Glass House, one of the largest legal cannabis producers in the country, has ended its agreements with two farm labor contractors after an immigration enforcement raid last month at its southern California facilities turned deadly.
According to the Associated Press, federal authorities said they arrested more than 360 people during the raids. One employee of a third-party contractor, Jaime Alanis Garcia, died from injuries sustained during the raid.
Glass House said that it's been unable to verify how many people in total were detained during the raids, but the company did confirm that nine of its employees were detained or arrested. It also said that George Retes, an employee of facility's security contractor as well as a U.S. citizen and Army veteran, was detained for three days without charges.
Glass House also acknowledged that approximately 11 minors, ranging in age from 14 to 17 years old, were detained during the raids.
The company said its farm labor contractors were required by agreement to ensure that each of their employees assigned to one of the company’s facilities must be 21 and older and have valid work authorization.
In addition to terminating its agreements with the labor contractors, Glass House said it has revised its labor agreements to better ensure compliance. All Glass House employees and contractors are now E-verified and the underlying documents are reviewed by experts for validity and age gating. The company said it has enhanced age gating controls for everyone entering the farms.
Glass House has also subsequently signed a Labor Peace Agreement for its license-holding entities with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, allowing the organization to present to employees throughout the company.
