Apr 24, 2015 Wage & Hour Issues

District of Columbia Employers Must Comply With Notice and Posting Obligations Under the District of Columbia Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act

The District of Columbia Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act, which took effect February 26, 2015, includes new notice and posting obligations for District of Columbia employers, including a requirement to provide written employment notices to current employees by May 27, 2015.   

Required Notices

Employers must provide a written employment notice to employees that contains the following: 

  1. the name of the employer and any “doing business as” names used by the employer;
  2. the physical address of the employer’s main office or principal place of business, and a mailing address, if different;
  3. the telephone number of the employer;
  4. the employee’s rate of pay and the basis of that rate, including by the hour, shift, day, week, salary, piece, commission, and any allowances claimed as part of the minimum wage, including tip, meal, or lodging allowances, or overtime rate of pay, exemptions from overtime pay, a living wage, exemptions from the living wage, and the applicable prevailing wages;
  5. the employee’s regular payday designated by the employer; and
  6. any such other information as the Mayor considers material and necessary.

The notice must be signed by the employer and by the employee (acknowledging receipt of the notice), and retained by the employer.

This notice must be provided: 

  1. to current employees by May 27, 2015;
  2. to all new hires; and
  3. whenever any of the required information in the notice changes. 

Employers are required to provide the notice in English in the form made available by the Mayor, and in the language known by the employer to be the employee’s primary language (or that the employee requests), if the Mayor has made available a translation of the form in that language.  Currently, the forms are available in English and Spanish on the District of Columbia’s Department of Employment Services’ (Temporary staffing agencies are subject to different requirements and this website also provides a link to form notices for these agencies.)  While the text of the new law appears to require employers to use the forms published by the Mayor, the instructions for the forms clarify that employers may create their own notices, or use or adapt the form notices, as long as (a) the required information appears in English and the employee’s primary language; (b) the employee receives a copy; (c) the employee signs an acknowledgment of receipt and identifies his or her primary language to the employer, and (d) the employer keeps a copy of the notice and acknowledgment form. 

Posting

Employers are also required to conspicuously post a summary of the law’s protections.  The Department of Employment Services has advised that employers may currently fulfill this requirement by posting a copy of the D.C. Minimum Wage Poster, available on its website at: https://does.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/does/publication/attachments/Minimum%20Wage%20Poster_2022.pdf.  Employers must also post any additional posters on this subject that may be published in the future.

Additional Considerations

In addition to the notice and posting requirements, the District of Columbia Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act: (a) imposes specific recordkeeping requirements on employers; (b) provides robust protections against retaliation and remedies for non-compliance; and (c) addresses the timing of wage payments, minimum wage requirements, and other related matters.  If you need additional information regarding these subjects or have any questions regarding the notice and posting requirements described above, please do not hesitate to contact any of our wage and hour attorneys located in New York or Los Angeles.

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