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Cannabis of Worcester
July 26, 2024
Lawsuits accuse Worcester dispensary of gender discrimination, violations of state regulations
Photos | Courtesy of Cannabis of Worcester
Cannabis of Worcester, a dispensary on Millbrook Street in Worcester, is facing two lawsuits by ex-employees.
Two lawsuits by former employees of the Cannabis of Worcester dispensary accuse the company of a number of wrongdoings, including gender discrimination, creating a hostile work environment, skirting regulations, and failing to timely pay wages.
The lawsuits were filed in Worcester County Superior Court on July 16 by Danielle Padilla and Cassandra Vega, two former Cannabis of Worcester employees who were terminated after raising complaints about the dispensary’s work environment, according to the lawsuits.
Both individuals began working at Cannabis of Worcester in April 2023 when the dispensary first opened, according to their lawsuits. Vega was employed as a floor manager, while Padilla was a budtender, cannabis industry terminology for employees who sell products and offer consultation to customers.
In addition to naming Cannabis of Worcester as a defendant, both lawsuits name CEO Gary Baldyga, who is a part-owner of the business, as well as fellow co-owners Patrick Murphy and Joseph Kachuroi.
Padilla’s lawsuit alleges male employees at the dispensary were paid a higher rate than female employees and sexism was a persistent issue at the store. Her lawsuit alleges the establishment did not make available or circulate a sexual harassment policy and male co-workers regularly made sexually inappropriate comments and shared pornography with one another in the workplace. Padilla alleges Cannabis of Worcester managers and executives encouraged this behavior.
In addition to claims about the work environment, Padilla’s lawsuit alleges the company did not properly distribute cash tips received in the company’s tip jar. Padilla alleged her hours were cut after she had requested and received approval for two weeks of unpaid off-time and her hours were further cut in retribution for using sick time, leading to an argument with management ending with her termination. Her lawsuit alleges she was not properly compensated for unused vacation time.
Vega’s lawsuit accuses the company of paying male employees at a higher rate than female employees. In addition, Vega accuses the company of bypassing state regulations governing product samples and rules limiting customers to purchasing no more than one ounce of cannabis per day at a location.
The lawsuit claims Cannabis of Worcester CEO Gary Baldyga would provide vendor samples to employees and customers, a violation of state regulations.
Vega’s lawsuit alleges Baldyga would create transactions for cannabis under his own name and instructed other employees to do the same as a means for customers to circumvent the one-ounce limitation on sales. When Vega attempted to report this activity to multiple people in management, she alleges she was terminated. Like Padilla, Vega claims the company failed to compensate her unused vacation time.
Cannabis of Worcester denied the allegations made by Vega.
“Cannabis of Worcester vigorously denies the allegations in the Complaint and looks forward to being vindicated in a Court of Law,” reads a statement about the Vega lawsuit provided by email to WBJ from Kathryn O’Leary, a Worcester-based attorney who is representing the company.
"The Defendants' position is that Cannabis of Worcester, LLC acted lawfully and with the best of intentions toward all of its employees. In certain situations it tolerated behavior that other employers would not have put up with. The Defendants look forward to being vindicated in a court of law," O'Leary said in a follow-up statement regarding the complaint from Padilla.
Baldyga did not respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission said the agency was aware of the matter but declined to comment on the claims or the lawsuit.
Cannabis of Worcester opened in April 2023 at 56 Millbrook St. The site was originally slated to be a dispensary operated by Arizona-based Harvest Health & Recreation Inc., but those plans were put on hold after Harvest was acquired by Florida-based Trulieve Cannabis Corp. in October 2021.
Baldyga is attempting to open another dispensary in Webster under the name Webster Cannabis Company LLC at 1191 School St., according to documents posted to the town’s website in June.
Eric Casey is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
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Anonymous
September 22, 2024
Worst dispensary you can work for.
Anonymous
July 27, 2024
Gary is a truly an upstanding guy.
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