Pot Shop Theory Wellness Gets Fined $300,000 For Shortchanging Hundreds of Employees

Theory Wellness, a marijuana dispensary operating in three Massachusetts locations, agreed to pay nearly $300,000 in restitution and penalties for its failure to pay hundreds of employees premium wages on Sundays and covered holidays under the state's wage laws.

Nearly 300 employees were shortchanged for their work on Sundays and holidays, according to Attorney General Maura Healey's office, who issued citations to Theory Wellness CEO Brandon Pollock and Treasurer Nicholas Friedman.

"Our office works to ensure that employees are rightfully compensated under the law for the work they do across industries in Massachusetts," Healey said in a statement.

The investigation of Theory Wellness began in December 2020 following a complaint from a worker about premium pay. Healey's office determined that 282 employees were collectively owed hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the Democrat said those workers "will now be made whole."

Theory Wellness operates dispensaries in Chicopee, Bridgewater and Great Barrington.

Under state wage laws, employees in 2021 are entitled to pay 1.2 times their regular hourly rate for work on Sundays and covered holidays. That rate declines to 1.1 times regular compensation in 2022, and premium pay will be eliminated in 2023 based on a law passed in 2018.