Riverview Farms Inc., a cannabis cultivation operation, has agreed to a settlement of $825,000 after a class action lawsuit accused the company of violating wage-and-hour requirements.
Class members are nonexempt cannabis cultivators who worked for Riverview Farms at 22938 Potter Road and 23092 Potter Road in Salinas, in Monterey County, California, between Oct. 1, 2015, and Dec. 31, 2019.
The lead plaintiff, Alicia Cruz Bravo, alleged in a lawsuit Riverview Farms did not pay class members overtime for hours worked in excess of eight hours per day, or 40 hours per week.
The plaintiff further alleged Riverview Farms provided class members with inaccurate wage statements, which could violate the law, and accused Riverview Farms of failing to pay all wages owed upon termination and unfair competition under the Business and Professions Code Section 17200.
The settlement was reached after three mediation sessions over a six-month period. The plaintiff’s counsel reviewed thousands of pages of redacted class member time and payroll data produced for the years 2018 and 2019.
On its website, Riverview Farms says it is a third-generation family operation, having grown into the largest female-minority-owned and operated cannabis company in the world. It employs 100 people who work 365 days a year, with 75% of the workforce being female.
The settlement agreement states Riverview Farms is not admitting guilt, but has agreed to the settlement to avoid the cost of proceeding with a...
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