Attorney General Schwalb’s Wage Theft Actions Yield Over $227,000 For Workers And D.C.
DEBARYLIFE – Washington, DC Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb announced today that three businesses that operate in the District—Fetch Package, Inc. (Fetch), Potomac Foods Company, and Food Works Group, LLC (Food Works)—will settle claims that they violated the District’s worker protection laws, depriving them of benefits like paid sick leave and paid family leave, as well as overtime pay and timely final paychecks. The companies will also pay $77,000 in penalties to the District.
“This Office will keep advocating for District employees and working to guarantee they receive all benefits and compensation to which they are legally entitled. Attorney General Schwalb stated, “We will also make sure that dishonest employers cannot obtain unfair competitive advantages at the expense of their workers.”
“These settlements help level the playing field for law-abiding businesses and help return hard-earned money from District residents to their pockets.”
Apartment buildings and Fetch Package, Inc. collaborate to contract out package delivery and receipt for tenants. Packages are delivered directly to tenants by Fetch after they are shipped to one of their warehouses.
OAG claimed that Fetch incorrectly identified ten delivery drivers as independent contractors, depriving them of benefits like sick leave and money that they were legally entitled to under District employment legislation.
Up until December 2022, Potomac Foods Company owned and operated a Burger King franchise on Connecticut Avenue Northwest.
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Following an examination, OAG claimed that Potomac Foods had neglected to pay eligible employees an overtime premium regularly from 2020 to 2022 and to quickly provide workers’ last paychecks after shutting down. Employers must give fired workers their last paychecks on the next business day or within 24 hours, per district law.
Food Works Group provides corporate consultancy services and food systems. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) initiated an investigation into Food Works Group in February 2024 regarding allegations that the company had incorrectly classified its employees as independent contractors, neglected to offer paid sick leave and Universal Paid Leave benefits, retaliated against a worker who had reported the incorrect classification, and discriminated against a pregnant employee in contravention of the District’s Human Rights Act.
As per the settlements’ terms:
– Fetch will start accurately classifying all qualified workers, pay the District over $50,000, compensate over $100,000 to the affected delivery drivers, and provide an annual report to the District on the company’s adherence to District law.
-Potomac Foods will give the District $22,500 and the affected workers $24,020.76. Additionally, the business must file annual reports for 2024 and any additional District sites in the future.
-Food Works Group will make the necessary business practice corrections to comply with the District’s labor regulations and the Human Rights Act, pay $5,000 to the District, and give a written certification of compliance to OAG in addition to paying $28,000 to the affected current and former employees.
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You can access the Fetch, Potomac Foods, and Food Works Group settlement agreements here.
Assistant Attorneys General Sarah Levine, Jude Nwaokobia, and Zack Hill, as well as Chief of the Workers’ Rights and Antifraud Section Graham Lake, handled these cases.
The OAG’s Work to Safeguard Employees
The goal of OAG’s Workers’ Rights and Antifraud Section is to safeguard District employees and combat wage theft. OAG has obtained over $10 million for employees and the District since January 2023.
Since obtaining the ability to enforce wage theft statutes, OAG has brought investigations and lawsuits against businesses that break District law, securing nearly $25 million in total.
The construction, restaurant, and hotel industries, as well as the gig economy, are among the sectors where OAG has concentrated its enforcement efforts over wage fraud.
Methods for Reporting Hour and Wage Infractions
Workers can get in touch with OAG by calling (202) 442-9828 or sending an email to [email protected] if they feel that their rights have been infringed upon, that they have experienced wage theft, or that they have encountered other wage and hour violations.