U.S. wage law applies to marijuana industry workers: appeals court
Reuters
Published Sep 20, 2019 05:01PM ET
U.S. wage law applies to marijuana industry workers: appeals court
By Daniel Wiessner
(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday said the federal law requiring that workers be paid a minimum wage and overtime applies to employees in the marijuana industry, as an increasing number of states legalize recreational use.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Colorado said the protections in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) apply to "all workers," regardless of whether the business they are engaged in is illegal under federal law.
The court rejected arguments by Colorado-based Helix TCS Inc, which provides security services for marijuana businesses, that its guards were not entitled to overtime because their work is illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act.
Lawyers for Helix and a former security guard who filed the class-action lawsuit did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The ruling was the first by a U.S. appeals court to address the issue. Other courts have said that businesses engaged in unlawful activities, such as gambling or employing illegal immigrants, are still subject to the FLSA.
Colorado, California, and Illinois are among the eleven U.S. states that have legalized recreational marijuana use by adults since 2012. Many other states permit marijuana use for medical purposes.
In Friday's decision, the 10th Circuit said that denying wage protections to workers in the marijuana industry would encourage employers to engage in illegal markets and give them an unfair advantage over legal businesses.
The court noted that Congress has repeatedly amended the FLSA to exempt specific groups of workers, and has never done so for employees of marijuana businesses.
The case is Kenney v. Helix TCS Inc, 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 18-1105.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.