Plaintiff Thaddeus Kaszuba-Dias has filed a race discrimination complaint against Green Thumb Industries Inc. in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on May 30, 2024. The lawsuit, represented by Pedersen & Weinstein LLP, accuses the defendant of unlawful termination based on racial discrimination.
Thaddeus Kaszuba-Dias began his employment with Green Thumb Industries Inc., a national cannabis consumer packaged goods company and retailer, in February 2020 as a Patient Care Specialist at their RISE retail store in Mundelein, Illinois. Over the years, he received positive feedback and was promoted twice—first to Shift Supervisor in March 2021 and then to Assistant General Manager in November 2022. Despite his commendable performance record, Kaszuba-Dias was terminated on August 2, 2023, under allegations of improperly receiving employee discounts.
According to the complaint, Green Thumb Industries Inc. allows employees one $60 Research & Development discount per week that must be processed by another employee. Kaszuba-Dias asserts that he adhered to this policy and did not conduct his own transactions. However, he was accused of "theft" and subsequently fired. The plaintiff alleges that other white or non-Indian managers who were responsible for auditing and approving these transactions faced no disciplinary actions despite similar behavior.
The complaint further states that Green Thumb Industries disregarded Kaszuba-Dias's explanations regarding how the discounts were applied and showed no genuine interest in understanding the truth behind the transactions. It is alleged that white managers who engaged in similar activities were neither disciplined nor terminated. This selective enforcement led Kaszuba-Dias to believe that his termination was racially motivated.
Kaszuba-Dias claims he has suffered extreme emotional distress, loss of wages, damage to his career and reputation, embarrassment, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life, inconvenience, and other non-pecuniary losses due to the defendant's actions. He also incurred legal fees as a result of pursuing this case.
In seeking judgment from the court, Kaszuba-Dias requests several forms of relief: a declaration that Green Thumb Industries violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991), Section 1981 of Title 42 U.S.C., and the Illinois Human Rights Act; compensation for lost wages and benefits; compensatory damages; punitive damages; prejudgment interest; reasonable attorneys' fees; costs and disbursements; reinstatement with appropriate promotions if future compensation is not awarded; and any other relief deemed just by the court.
The case is being handled by attorneys Erika Pedersen and Jill Weinstein from Pedersen & Weinstein LLP. The Case ID is 1:24-cv-04465.