D.C.’s New Wage Theft Law Imposes Additional Notice, Posting And Recordkeeping Requirements On Employers

Last October, we reported on D.C.'s soon-to-be-enacted D.C. Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act. This Act, which amends several existing D.C. wage and hour laws, includes new notice requirements and retaliation protections, increases employer liability for wage and hour violations and introduces a new administrative hearing process - all changes that employers with D.C.-based employees need to be aware of.

The Act becomes effective on February 26, 2015. Previously, the Act was slated to go into effect on January 14, 2015, but an emergency amendment pushed back that date. There is a chance it is pushed back again and we will update this post accordingly if that happens. An overview of the key provisions follows below.

Written Pay Notices to Current and New Employees

The Act requires employers to provide pay notices to existing employees starting on May 27, 2015. The Act also requires employer to provide pay notices to new hires, but is unclear when this obligation begins - either on February 26, when the Act becomes effective or on May 27, 90 days after the Act becomes effective. We recommend taking the most conservative approach and issuing these notices to any new hire employed as of February 26 even though it is unlikely the Mayor's office will have released the sample pay notice template by then (the Mayor has until April 27 to do that).

Employers must provide the notice both in English and in the employee's primary language, and it must contain the following information:

The name of the employer and any "doing business as" names used by the employer; The physical address of the employer's main office or principal place of business, and a mailing address, if different; The telephone number of the employer; The employee's rate of pay and the basis of that rate, including by the hour, shift, day, week, salary or piece; Any allowances claimed as part of the minimum wage, including tip, meal or lodging allowances; The employee's overtime rate of pay, exemptions from overtime pay, living wage, exemptions from the living wage, and the applicable prevailing wages; The employee's regular payday designated by the employer; and Any other information the Mayor considers material and necessary. In addition, employers must provide updated notices to existing employees when any of the above information changes. Employers and employees must sign and date all notices, employees must acknowledge receipt, and employers must retain copies of the signed...