Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today issued the below Business Advisory to help inform the District’s restaurant community about DC employment laws protecting restaurant workers.

“The District is home to a vibrant, diverse restaurant industry, and because restaurant workers play such a critical role supporting our local culture and economy, DC laws appropriately protect their rights,” said Attorney General Schwalb. “This guidance advances my Office’s commitment to ensuring that restaurant workers are treated fairly and receive all the wages they earn and the benefits they are entitled to under DC law, and that all restaurants compete on a level playing field.”

"DC’s restaurant industry is one of the city’s largest private employers, and operators continue to be committed to creating fair, lawful, and supportive workplaces for their teams," said Shawn Townsend, President and CEO of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. "We appreciate the Office of the Attorney General’s effort to provide clear, accessible guidance on complex employment laws, so owners and managers can focus on doing what they do best — serving their guests, supporting their employees, and strengthening their neighborhoods. We encourage all restaurants to review the advisory closely, and to reach out to RAMW for compliance support, training opportunities, and resources to help ensure they meet these important requirements." 

BUSINESS ADVISORY: DISTRICT RESTAURANTS MUST FOLLOW ALL EMPLOYMENT LAWS

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is reaching out to the restaurant community in the District to share important educational information about District laws affecting restaurant employees. 

The District is home to a vibrant local restaurant industry and culture, which plays a vital role in our local economy. Restaurant workers form the backbone of that industry, and it is critical for restaurant owners and operators to understand their legal obligations to their workers. 

This business advisory covers some of the most important rules for restaurants to keep in mind regarding their employees.

I. WAGE AND HOUR REQUIREMENTS

Minimum Wage & Overtime

All restaurant employers must: 

• Ensure all hourly employees are paid at least the District’s minimum hourly wage. As of July 1, 2025, the District’s minimum wage is $17.95.
   
• Pay employees overtime wages for any hours worked over 40 in a work week. Under DC law, this means that workers must receive at least one and a half times their base rate of pay for any hour worked over 40 in a work week, unless their duties are overtime exempt. (Note that paying a worker a “salary” does not by itself make them exempt.)

Pay Frequency, Pay Stubs, Reporting & Recordkeeping

All restaurant employers must: 

• Pay all employees on a regular payday at least twice a month.
   
• Provide employees with itemized pay stubs each payday that separately report the following information:
   
  • base rate of pay,
  • hours worked at each rate of pay,
  • commission pay,
  • incentive pay,
    overtime pay,
  • cash tips,
  • credit card tips,
  • any amount of wages calculated as a percentage of service charges, and
  • any other additions to or deductions from pay.

• Make appropriate payroll tax withholdings from employee paychecks. 

Restaurant employers also must follow rules about recordkeeping and notice. Specifically, all restaurant employers must:  

• Maintain payroll records that include the following information:
   
  • Each employee’s name, address, occupation, and date of birth (if under 19), and
  • For each pay period, each employee’s rate of pay, the amount paid to each employee, and the precise times worked each day and workweek by the employee.
     
• Provide employees with written notice any time there is a change to their rate of pay.
   
• Provide employees with written notice of any claimed overtime exemptions.

Tips

Wherever restaurant employees receive tips, regardless of whether employees are paid the minimum wage or the tipped minimum wage, the employer must:  

• Ensure each employee keeps all tips they receive or that each employee receives their fair share of money from a “pool” of tips.
   
• If an employer chooses to “pool” tips, the employer must:
   
  • Provide employees with written notice of the tip-pooling policy.
  • Post a copy of the tip-pooling policy in the workplace.
  • Ensure that managers and supervisors do not participate in a tip pool.
    • Employers should also be aware of guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Labor concerning tip-pooling requirements under federal law: See Fact Sheet #15. As under federal law, District law permits employers to pool tips to employees that do not typically earn tips (like bar backs, cooks, and back-house staff) so long as all employees in the tip-pool earn at least the full minimum wage before tips.
       
• Notify employees of any percentage by which tips paid via credit card will be reduced by credit card fees.
   
• Where employers take the tip credit and pay workers the tipped minimum wage, currently $10 per hour, they must also ensure that each employee’s wages plus tips add up to at least the full minimum wage, currently $17.95, for every hour worked.  

Worker Misclassification

Most restaurant workers, including servers, bartenders, barbacks, bussers, hosts, cooks, and cleaners, are typically employees. When an entity like a restaurant has the ability to hire, control, supervise, discipline, and/or fire a worker, the worker is an employee. It is unlawful for employers to classify workers as independent contractors if they meet the legal definition of an employee. 

Penalties for Wage & Hour Violations

Where employers fail to follow these rules, they are liable for damages in the amount of wages owed, liquidated damages equal to three times the amount of wages owed, and penalties of $50-$100 for each violation. Employers may face additional penalties for recordkeeping and notice violations. 

For more information about the District’s wage and hour rules, employers can read the Minimum Wage Revision Act and Wage Payment and Collection Law.   

II. PAID SICK LEAVE REQUIREMENTS

Restaurant employers must provide all employees with accrued paid sick and safe leave under the District’s Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Law. Specifically: 

• Employers with 100 or more employees must provide one hour of paid leave for every 37 hours an employee worked, up to 7 days per year.
   
• Employers with 25 - 99 employees must provide one hour of paid leave for every 43 hours an employee worked, up to 5 days per year.
   
• Employers with 1 - 24 employees must provide one hour of paid leave for every 87 hours an employee worked, up to 3 days per year. 

These rules apply equally to part-time and full-time employees. Every employee must be allowed to use their accrued paid sick leave after 90 days of employment. Employers are free to provide more paid sick leave than the minimum required by law. 

Employees can use paid sick leave for absences, including emergency absences, relating to mental or physical illnesses and any medical diagnosis or treatment. Employees can also use paid leave to care for sick family members, or to seek social or legal services if they are victim of stalking, domestic violence, or sexual abuse. 

Additionally, the paid sick leave law states that: 

• Employers must maintain records of all sick leave accrued and taken by employees.
   
• Employers cannot request a doctor’s note from an employee unless the employee requests more than three consecutive days of paid sick leave.
   
• Employers cannot discriminate against, discharge, or otherwise retaliate in any way against employees for requesting or using paid sick leave.
   
• Employers must post and maintain notice about employees’ rights under the Paid Sick and Safe Leave law. 

Where employers fail to provide employees with accrued paid sick leave, they are liable for damages (the number of accrued leave hours denied times the employee’s rate of pay), additional statutory damages of $500 per day denied per employee, and penalties of $1000-$2000 per offense for willful violations.  

For more information, employers can read the District’s Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Law.   

III. UNIVERSAL PAID LEAVE REQUIREMENTS

District employees are eligible to take paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child, or for their own serious health condition or the serious health condition of a family member. Employers must provide notice to each employee of these rights at hiring and annually afterwards. The current notice form is available here. It is unlawful for an employer to interfere with or retaliate against an employee who requests or applies for Universal Paid Leave. 

For more information, employers can visit the DC Paid Family Leave website. 

 IV. RESOURCES FOR BUSINESSES

If you are a District restaurant and have questions about your business’s obligations, you can contact the DC Bar Pro Bono Center Nonprofit & Small Business Legal Assistance Programs:  

• npsb@dcbar.org
   
• https://www.lawhelp.org/dc/npsb