TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A federal class action lawsuit was filed by a former employee of a cannabis dispensary company that employed workers in Quincy, Midway and Monticello.
According to a document that was filed Wednesday in United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, a class action complaint was filed against Trulieve, Inc. .
The document notes the lawsuit was brought because of alleged violations of the Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988.
The complaint alleges Trulieve is liable under the act, which is also known as the WARN Act, for failing to provide the plaintiff and all other similarly situated former employees at least 60 days’ advance notice of their terminations as required by the act.
Trulieve said in a statement to WTXL ABC 27 Thursday afternoon:
“We can temporarily reduce production at a facility due to a combination of factors that include when we achieve greater efficiencies throughout our supply chain and retail operations, as well as patient demand. We are also consolidating redundant positions from our merger last year. Trulieve is committed to northwest Florida as evidenced by our new 750,000 [square feet] facility in Jefferson County. Where possible, we moved impacted employees to other sites in the area. If this was not possible, the employee was provided with a severance package. Trulieve currently employees nearly 9,000 people across the country and continues to hire for new positions in other areas.”
The main plaintiff in the complaint was employed by Trulieve's location in Quincy until their termination Nov. 29.
The document says there were more than 50 employees at the Trulieve location in Quincy and more than 50 employees that worked at the Midway and Monticello locations.
The complaint also says that Trulieve was required by the WARN Act to provide 60 days' notice to the local governments where the facilities were located 60 days advance notice of the terminations.
The document claims advance notification was not provided to the local government entities where the facilities are located.
Trulieve is alleged to have not paid the former employees their respective wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, accrued holiday pay, vacation and other benefits which would have accrued for 60 days following their respective terminations without notice and failed to provide them with health insurance coverage and other employee benefits.
The complaint requests payment equal to the sum of unpaid wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, accrued holiday, pay, accrued vacation pay and ERISA benefit for 60 working days following the employee’s termination that would have been covered and paid under the then employee benefit plan if coverage continued.
