Former Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) Chair Shannon O’Brien is suing the state Treasurer Deb Goldberg and the commission itself, alleging retaliation and invasion of her privacy related to her firing from the position about two years ago, the State House News Service reports.

O’Brien was suspended from the commission in late 2023 and later fired by Goldberg for allegedly making insensitive remarks and contributing to a hostile work environment. O’Brien challenged her removal, however, and was ultimately reinstated as commission chair after a judge determined last September she had been wrongfully terminated. O’Brien resumed heading the commission in October, was awarded back pay and benefits for her being ousted from the position, and served there until Gov. Maura Healey (D) appointed an all-new commission in May.

In the lawsuit, O’Brien claims that Goldberg and the CCC retaliated against her while she was commission chair after she reported actions that she believed were illegal or risky, in violation of the Massachusetts Whistleblower Act. The suit also alleges violations of the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act and that Goldberg invaded her privacy.

A representative from Goldberg’s office, meanwhile, said in the report that the lawsuit is an attention-seeking effort to revive past-litigated issues.

The lawsuit is seeking compensation for damages to be determined by a jury. Needham attorney Timothy Burke, who filed the suit on O’Brien’s behalf, said O’Brien had suffered “economic loss, professional and reputational injury, emotional distress, physical symptoms, litigation expenses, and other compensable damages.”

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“Verano did not want any of these terms. Had it been free to do so, it would not have accepted any of them. In fact, it would have signed no [labor peace agreement] at all.”

By Sophie Nieto-Muñoz, New Jersey Monitor

New Jersey’s mandate that cannabis companies must sign agreements with labor unions is facing another legal challenge from one of the industry’s largest operators.

Verano, which runs four ZenLeaf dispensaries in New Jersey, is suing the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission, arguing the state can’t force it to sign what’s called a labor peace agreement with a union. Verano’s labor peace agreements require it to remain neutral when it comes to union organizing and bar Verano from making negative statements about the union, among other things.

The state’s cannabis regulation law requires cannabis companies to maintain these agreements to obtain and keep a license to sell cannabis. Verano’s lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court in New Jersey, alleges this violates the National Labor Relations Act.

“Verano did not want any of these terms,” the complaint states. “Had it been free to do so, it would not have accepted any of them. In fact, it would have signed no [labor peace agreement] at all.”

Verano notes in the complaint that the commission has a history of enforcing the agreement condition and will dole out civil penalties when companies don’t comply. The commission fined Curaleaf, a major competitor of Verano, $610,000 in 2025 for failing to maintain its labor peace agreement.

Verano said if it loses its license, it will be forced out of business, forced to fire its workers, and “sacrifice its accumulated goodwill in the local market.”

The company holds licenses for dispensaries in Elizabeth, Lawrence Township, Neptune Township and Mount Holly, plus a cultivation and processing facility in Branchburg, with a total staff of about 300. The Neptune license was up for renewal August 1, with Mount Holly’s renewal coming up in November.

Verano’s labor peace agreement is with Local 360 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

Verano is asking a judge to declare that the labor peace mandate can’t be used as grounds to deny, suspend, revoke or refuse renewal of its licenses, and that its agreements with Local 360 are voidable, which would allow the company to walk away from the union relationship.

Spokespeople for the union, which is named as a defendant in Verano’s lawsuit, and for the Cannabis Regulatory Commission did not respond to requests for comment. The commission is scheduled to meet for a public meeting on Thursday.

Verano’s lawsuit relies heavily on a recent decision in Curaleaf’s legal challenge to labor peace agreements. In that case, a federal judge in May denied the Cannabis Regulatory Commission’s move to dismiss Curaleaf’s lawsuit and said labor peace agreements are preempted by federal law.

Verano argued its agreements with the union should now be considered void, claiming that both sides signed them under the belief that it was required under law, that Verano only signed under “illegitimate coercion,” and that the agreement’s entire purpose—regulatory compliance—no longer exists because of the ruling in the Curaleaf case.

New Jersey started requiring these agreements in 2018, when the state Department of Health began scoring cannabis license applications and awarded 30 points to companies that signed one, which effectively made the agreement a necessity. It was later written into the state’s cannabis law, which led to recreational dispensaries opening their doors in April 2022.

This story was first published by New Jersey Monitor.

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