A former security guard at a Colorado dispensary has won a court battle in his fight for wage protections.

Robert Kenney, who worked as a security guard for Helix TCS in 2016 and 2017, filed a lawsuit in 2017 alleging the company had violated federal wage protections by having him work over 40 hours a week without overtime pay.

Helix filed a motion to dismiss, which was denied by district court and moved to appeals court. The U.S. appeals court affirmed the denial Monday, according to the court documents.

Helix does not dispute that Kenney worked more than 40 hours a week, says the motion, but rather that Kenney would be eligible for federal wage protections given the nature of dispensaries violating federal law by their existence.

The court disagreed, saying that “case law is clear that employers are not excused from complying with federal laws” due to other federal violations.

An attorney for Helix told CPR that the fight is not over.

“Helix pays all of its workers fairly and lawfully,” attorney Jordan Factor said. “We are disappointed in the court’s ruling and believe they got it wrong. Congress did not intend to guarantee overtime to workers in the federally illegal marijuana industry. We are exploring all of our options, including an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.”