Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today announced that Swahili Village M Street, LLC (Swahili Village DC) and its owner, Kevin Onyona, must pay $526,973 to restaurant workers and DC to resolve a 2023 wage theft lawsuit. In its lawsuit, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) alleged that Swahili Village DC systematically stole wages and tips from its servers, hosts, food runners, bussers, and bartenders and violated multiple DC labor laws.

Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today filed a lawsuit against five companies for engaging in a widespread misclassification scheme that deprived hundreds of District construction workers the wages and benefits they were entitled to under DC law.

Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today announced that three companies operating in the District - Fetch Package, Inc. (Fetch), Potomac Foods Company, and Food Works Group, LLC (Food Works) - will pay over $150,000 to affected workers and $77,000 to the District in penalties to resolve allegations of violations of the District’s worker protection laws that deprived District workers of overtime pay, timely final paychecks, and benefits including paid sick leave and paid family leave.

Last week, communities around the world gathered to celebrate Earth Day, and at the Office of the Attorney General, we are committed to using every legal tool available to protect the District’s abundant natural resources, fight for environmental justice, and ensure all Washingtonians have access to clean air and water.  

Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today announced that Tricon Construction, Inc. (Tricon) will pay $350,000 to resolve allegations that Tricon and four of its subcontractors engaged in an illegal worker misclassification scheme that denied sick leave and other benefits to approximately 200 District construction workers. The District's Workplace Fraud Act (WFA) provides heightened protections for workers in the construction industry, including a presumption that they should be classified as employees rather than independent contractors. Tricon is a framing and drywall installation company that entered into agreements with numerous subcontractors to complete construction projects in the District. However, four of those subcontractors—Zepeda Drywall Inc., RJA Construction, G&O Drywall Inc., and SGA Construction Corp.—misclassified their workers as independent contractors instead of employees in violation of the WFA and the District’s Sick and Safe Leave Act.

At the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), we recognize that along with policing and prosecution, prevention work is a key component of any comprehensive public safety strategy to help make the District safer now and in the future.

Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today released a 2023 Impact Report detailing how over the past year, The Office of the Attorney General has delivered for District residents, securing $610 million in total savings and benefits – over four times its annual budget.

Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today announced that Arise Virtual Solutions, Inc. (Arise), a gig economy customer service company, will pay $3 million to customer service workers and the District to resolve an employee misclassification lawsuit. In the suit, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) alleged that Arise, which provides a workforce of at-home customer service call workers for client companies, including Comcast Cable Communications, unlawfully failed to pay workers minimum wages, overtime, and paid sick leave by misclassifying them as independent contractors rather than employees. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Arise will pay more than $2 million to over 250 workers, and will pay nearly $940,000 to the District. Arise will also stop doing business in DC.  

Happy 2024! It’s hard to believe that January is already drawing to a close. Here at the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), we hit the ground running, kicking off the year with a new public safety grant program and a series of successful wage theft and consumer protection cases that put hundreds of thousands of dollars back into the pockets of District residents. As always, I continued this month spending time at community events and forums throughout the city, hearing directly from District residents. Thank you for making your voices heard – your concerns and ideas for the District directly inform our work here at OAG.

Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today announced that Clean Team Janitorial Service, Inc. (Clean Team) will pay more than $260,000 to janitorial workers and the District to resolve allegations that the company underpaid workers from 2020 to 2023. Under the terms of a settlement agreement with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), Clean Team will pay $220,561 in unpaid wages and damages to 33 workers who were paid less than they were legally owed. Clean Team will also be required to pay $40,000 in penalties to the District and must submit to monitoring by OAG for the next two years.