US Supreme Court declines to weigh in on cannabis overtime pay case
Marijuana Business Daily — October 6, 2020
How federal labor laws affect state-legal marijuana businesses could remain murky after the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear an overtime pay case in the cannabis sector.
A petition by Helix TCS, a Colorado cannabis security firm, for the Supreme Court to review the case was denied, Law360.com reported.
Employee Robert Kenney alleged in a suit against Helix that he and other company security guards often worked more than 40 hours a week in 2016 and 2017 without receiving paid overtime, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit ruled that a lower court “correctly reasoned” that employers are not excused from complying with federal laws just because the business practice itself is federally prohibited.
Helix asked for the Supreme Court review, saying that the 10th Circuit decision merely “deepens the confusion, conflict and lack of uniformity between state and federal law” regarding workers participating in the marijuana industry.
The case now goes back to the U.S. District Court, according to Law360.com.
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