A Pennsylvania subsidiary of pot giant
Harvest Health & Recreation Inc. has been sued by a former worker who claims she's the victim of age, disability and racial discrimination after losing her job at a cannabis production facility in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic
In Thursday's suit, filed in an Allentown federal court, 58-year-old Pottstown resident Tracy Williams claimed her managers at Franklin Labs LLC terminated her after three months of what was harsh and unequal treatment compared to that of her younger coworkers.
Williams started at Franklin Labs in February 2020, weeks before it became clear that COVID-19 posed a major public health threat in the U.S., she noted.
The following month, Franklin Labs was acquired by Harvest Health, which is also named as a defendant in the suit.
Williams described herself as suffering from long-term disabilities, including colitis and other gastrointestinal complications, and she noted that she suffered at least one bout of symptoms during her three months at the company, which included vomiting in the bathroom at work.
Williams said that her employer told her that she had to get tested for COVID-19 on the heels of the episode, despite the fact that other employees who had recently come to work with symptoms such as coughing and sneezing were not required to take a COVID test.
Williams, who is Black, claims that this was but one example of disparate treatment she received at the company.
She said that, for example, she was suspended after traveling on her time off over a weekend, despite the fact that no one had warned her that would warrant such a consequence. She was also once disciplined "for not weighing something properly," despite the fact she contended she hadn't done anything wrong and others who worked alongside her at the same weighing station were not admonished.
Williams also said that she found herself "singled out for the bulk of the janitorial work" that was supposed to be divided between employees, including assignments to clean the bathroom and the employee break room, and contended that the assignments were meted out in an attempt to get her to quit.
She described the company's workforce as mostly employees in their 20s and 30s, and added that she was one of very few Black employees. Williams added that it appeared to her that Scott Lee, the company's director of cultivation, seemed "reluctant to hire Black people in general." Williams said she was referred to the company by a family member, who said Lee asked for assurance that Williams wasn't "one of those angry Black women."
Williams said, "Lee at times would also tell plaintiff don't act 'angry,' consistent with his discriminatory view of Black women and despite the fact that plaintiff was nothing but pleasant and professional."
Williams said she tried to raise her concerns about these incidents with her managers, but that they "ignored the complaints, blew them off and then terminated Plaintiff in close proximity to them."
She accused the company of violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, her right to equal treatment under the law and civil rights act and sought to see the company ordered to create an anti-discrimination policy. She asked to be compensated for the pay and benefits she lost and to receive punitive damages.
An attorney for Williams declined to comment on the pending litigation, and representatives for the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Williams is represented by W. Charles Sipio, Allison Aileen Barker and Ari Risson Karpf of
Karpf Karpf & Cerutti PC.
Counsel information for Franklin Labs and Harvest Health & Recreation Inc. wasn't immediately available Friday.
The case is Williams v. Franklin Labs LLC et al., case number
5:21-cv-00864, in the
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
--Editing by Regan Estes.
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