CA cannabis grower agrees to $825K class-action wage settlement

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A California marijuana grower accused of cheating hourly employees out of overtime pay has agreed to a class-action settlement worth some $825,000.

Riverview Farms of Salinas will pay about 600 people an average settlement payment amount of $887 each.

The company didn’t admit fault after being accused by a former employee of avoiding overtime pay by falsifying time reports.

Agricultural workers are generally exempt from overtime requirements under federal labor law.

However, the marijuana industry operates out of compliance with federal law, leaving employment regulations to state authorities. The Riverview case was brought and settled in California state court.

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Riverview negotiated the wage settlement for six months, according to the legal publication that first covered the settlement, Top Class Actions.

Former Riverview employees who worked between 2015 and 2019 have been notified and will receive payments starting in November.