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#2258389 - 08/18/21 09:38 PM Employee grows and sells marijuana
Anonymous
Unregistered

Hello! It's recently come to my attention that we have an employee who grows and sells marijuana. All supposedly above-board.

Things that may or may not matter:
- Marijuana is legal in our state, medicinal and recreational.
- We are state chartered.
- We do NOT bank marijuana, hemp, etc. per policy.
- We do NOT bank this employee's business in any way.

I'm trying to figure out how to feel about this. My first inclination is that I don't care. My second inclination is that I'm not sure if I shouldn't care.

Point me in a direction? Is this strictly an employment issue that we can choose to care or not care about as an employer? Or does this start to run afoul of our BSA/AML policies?

Thanks!

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#2258391 - 08/18/21 10:15 PM Re: Employee grows and sells marijuana Anonymous
InFairness, CRCM Offline
Platinum Poster
InFairness, CRCM
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 919
USA
What do your HR policies say about outside employment?
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Opinions are strictly my own, and have nothing to do with my employer.

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#2258392 - 08/18/21 10:33 PM Re: Employee grows and sells marijuana Anonymous
Anonymous
Unregistered

Just that it can't present a conflict of interest. They certainly don't say that you can't grow weed as a side hustle.

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#2258398 - 08/19/21 12:33 PM Re: Employee grows and sells marijuana Anonymous
HappyGilmore Offline
10K Club
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 19,844
Pulling people out of the ditc...
our outside employment policy lists a number of job types employees can't hold, such as at a bar, casino, other financial institution, and "any other place the Company deems may bring reputational damage to the Company." Whether this type of side job poses reputational risk is in the eye of the beholder. I would likely be suggesting that an attorney that specializes in HR matters be consulted on this, with the goal of updating the outside employment policy first, and then deciding if the employee needs to end this, second.

also, our policy requires the employee to seek permission prior to taking outside job, and it requires approval from chain of command management and HR prior to allowing, may want to consider that too.
Last edited by HappyGilmore; 08/19/21 12:35 PM.
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Providing alternative truths since the invention of time

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#2258400 - 08/19/21 01:34 PM Re: Employee grows and sells marijuana Anonymous
Anonymous
Unregistered

That's all helpful, and thank you. I'm not denying that we have agency here or that we can better define this issue as an employer, and our policy does ask for notifications and approvals.

My primary interest/concern here was whether BSA cares. It wasn't clear to me how it would, but clarity in re: BSA is no kind of given. From the focus on employment policies I take it that you guys aren't aware of a conflict with BSA and/or marijuana policies?

Thanks for the feedback and discussion!

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#2258402 - 08/19/21 02:22 PM Re: Employee grows and sells marijuana Anonymous
Anonymous
Unregistered

Not knowing what state you are in, I think it will depend on how this "side hustle" is run.

Is it an official business that is registered with the appropriate licensing authorities in your state and that he is paying taxes on? Or is he growing and selling it out of his house?

Is he bringing in $100,000 per month or $100 per month?

Imo, any BSA risk will stem from how this operation is being run.

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#2258404 - 08/19/21 02:32 PM Re: Employee grows and sells marijuana Anonymous
ColoradoAML Offline
Gold Star
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 338
I would say that if your employee is depositing proceeds from the sale of marijuana into your bank, it's a BSA issue in the same way any other MRB is an issue. If he is not using your bank for these funds, and there's no concern that the employee is subverting BSA P&P for any reason, I don't see any reason BSA should care.

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#2258652 - 08/25/21 02:08 PM Re: Employee grows and sells marijuana Anonymous
Anonymous
Unregistered

How do you weigh an employee that sells marijuana as a "side hustle" versus an employee that goes to the casino and gambles every weekend?

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#2258655 - 08/25/21 02:19 PM Re: Employee grows and sells marijuana Anonymous
Anonymous
Unregistered

Your comparison is a non sequitur.

Last time I checked, casinos were not illegal at the federal level.

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