Media Report: Cannabis Workers Settle Wage and Hour Lawsuit with Glass House / Failed to provide legally required meal and rest breaks / Failed to pay overtime

Santa Clara, CACalifornia cannabis operator Glass House Brands and some of its subsidiaries agreed in November to settle for $305,000 a California labor lawsuit brought by hourly agricultural workers who alleged they were subjected to unlawful production quotas and denied proper wages and breaks. The plaintiffs claimed their wages were often set below the state’s minimum and in cases where workers spent 10 hours on the clock, the companies did not give them a second lunch period.

The four plaintiffs initially filed their claims as proposed class actions in state court, and the suits were later consolidated. In early November, the lead plaintiffs agreed to voluntarily dismiss without prejudice all claims except those brought under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), reported Law360.

The $305,000 settlement resolves claims that Glass House—one of the largest cannabis producers in California—and affiliated entities violated California labor law by imposing aggressive trimming and harvesting quotas that made it almost impossible to comply with California’s strict break requirements. Plaintiffs claimed the defendants:

• Failed to provide legally required meal and rest breaks,
• Failed to pay overtime,
• Did not compensate for all hours worked,
• Failed to provide accurate wage statements.

According to court documents, Glass House employees were expected to meet daily production benchmarks that plaintiffs said effectively discouraged workers from taking breaks. California law prohibits employers from setting quotas that impede an employee’s right to take meal and rest periods, and violations can trigger additional premium pay.

Workers alleged that failure to meet quotas could result in discipline or loss of work opportunities, creating pressure to work through breaks or continue working off the clock. Plaintiffs also alleged that they regularly worked more than eight hours in a day or 40 hours in a week without receiving legally required overtime compensation. Further, the lawsuit alleged that wage statements did not always accurately reflect hours worked or overtime rates and that some workers were not timely paid all wages owed at the end of their employment.

Settlement Summary

The November settlement resolved the case ahead of a trial that had been tentatively scheduled for 2026. Legal observers note that wage-and-hour cases involving quotas and PAGA claims often settle due to the financial uncertainty employers face if the matter proceeds to trial.

A portion of the $305,000 settlement funds was allocated to penalties under PAGA, which allows employees to pursue civil penalties on behalf of the state for labor code violations. Up to about $130,000 of that may be distributed to eligible California Labor & Workforce Development Agency claims (i.e., penalties under state labor law) and the rest would cover payments to workers, attorneys’ fees and related costs, reported Law360.

Recurring Labor Violations

This lawsuit is far from a one-off. Glass House’s past complaints and controversies include:

• Wage and labor law claims going back two or more years — unpaid wages, denied overtime, and breaks.
• Federal immigration and labor enforcement action, including raids and serious allegations about labor exploitation and minors on site.
• Public allegations (from competitors) of questionable market practices which have not necessarily been proven.

In prior wage-and-hour complaints, Glass House workers alleged similar violations, including unpaid minimum wages, missed meal and rest breaks, and failure to provide premium pay when breaks were not provided. Plaintiffs argued that the company’s labor practices were driven by production demands that conflicted with California’s employee protection statutes.

California’s cannabis industry faces heightened scrutiny over employment practices. Large-scale cultivation operations often rely on physically demanding labor and seasonal workforces, factors that have contributed to an increase in wage-and-hour litigation. As well, regulators and worker advocates have emphasized that cannabis employers are subject to the same labor standards as other agricultural and manufacturing businesses.

The lawsuit, Melendez v. Glass House Camarillo Cultivation LLC et al., was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The company denied wrongdoing, and the agreement was reached without an admission of liability.