ESPAÑOL
McGillivary Steele Elkin Hero Background Image

April 5, 2024

Federal Court Preliminary Approves Class Action Settlement in Tip Pool Lawsuit Brought by Schwazze Budtenders in New Mexico and Colorado

On April 1, 2024, a federal district court in New Mexico preliminary approved a class action settlement on behalf of approximately 250 budtenders employed by Medicine Man Technologies Inc. (doing business as Schwazze) in New Mexico and Colorado. The settlement provides the budtenders in the Settlement Class with a total of $525,000 to resolve their claims that the cannabis company unlawfully required them to share tips with supervisory employees called Shift Leads in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New Mexico law.
McGillivary Steele Elkin Chat Icon

Contact Us Now
Home » News » Federal Court Preliminary Approves Class Action Settlement in Tip Pool Lawsuit Brought by Schwazze Budtenders in New Mexico and Colorado

Sarah M. Block
Fri, 04/05/2024

On April 1, 2024, a federal district court in New Mexico preliminary approved a class action settlement on behalf of approximately 250 budtenders employed by Medicine Man Technologies Inc. (doing business as Schwazze) in New Mexico and Colorado. The settlement provides the budtenders in the Settlement Class with a total of $525,000 to resolve their claims that the cannabis company unlawfully required them to share tips with supervisory employees called Shift Leads in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New Mexico law.. All budtenders in the Settlement Class are represented by MSE attorneys Molly Elkin, Sarah Block, and Rachel Lerner and co-counsel from the New Mexico law firm of Youtz & Valdez PC.

The Court’s preliminary settlement approval order was reported in Law360 on April 3, 2024. To read the Law360 article, click here.

Special wage rules apply to workers who receive tips, regardless of whether they are paid at the full minimum wage or the lower tipped wage rate. If you receive tips and believe you have not been paid in accordance with the law—for example because you have been subject to an unlawful tip pool, have had your overtime pay rate miscalculated, or you have been required to performed non-tipped work at the tipped wage rate—please contact MSE today at info@mselaborlaw.com to learn more about your rights and to schedule a free consultation with an experienced labor & employment attorney.

Legal Representation for All Workers

When McGillivary Steele Elkin LLP decides to take your case, it is because we believe there is an unacceptable workplace violation that has negatively impacted you or resulted in your employer paying less than what the law requires and which we have a reasonable chance of remedying. We recognize that meritorious claims should not go unremedied because of the level of a person’s resources.

To ensure accessible and available legal representation for all our clients, MSE handles cases through different forms of fee arrangements, including contingency fees, hourly fees and fixed fees.