Matthew Purushotham
Fri, 09/01/2023
On August 22, 2023, the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Brian L. Schwalb, sued Swahili Village, which serves East African cuisine on M Street, NW, in D.C. Superior Court for an array of wage and hour and other violations, including systematically violating the District’s minimum wage and overtime provisions. The complaint alleges that the restaurant, which adds a 20 percent gratuity to all checks, appropriated large amounts of tips, even though it unlawfully compensated some of its employees exclusively through such tips. Some servers received as little as $5.00 per hour, inclusive of wages and tips, starting in 2020. Consequently, compensation for some workers fell far below the District’s minimum wage, which was $14 that year.
The lawsuit further alleges that the fine-dining restaurant, which catered to “dignitaries and diplomats,” failed to pay overtime wages when employees worked more than 40 hours per week, with some workers working more than 60 hours in a week without being compensated with any time and one-half overtime pay. In addition, workers did not receive any paid sick leave and were reprimanded for missing work due to illness. The Attorney General’s investigation found that these illegal practices affected hundreds of servers, hosts, food runners, bussers, and bartenders.
As a result of these practices, the Attorney General alleges that Swahili Village violated the D.C. Minimum Wage Revision Act, the Sick and Safe Leave Act, and Wage Payment and Collection Law. As a result of these violations, the Attorney General claims that some workers were underpaid by up to $5,000.
McGillivary Steele Elkin has represented tens of thousands of restaurant and food service workers in cases involving unpaid overtime. For more information, visit https://www.mselaborlaw.com/resources/private-employees/restaurant-and-food-services. For more information on the unique issues facing tipped workers, visit https://www.mselaborlaw.com/news/tipped-workers-continue-face-unique-wage-issues-workplace. If you are concerned that your employer has unlawfully withheld overtime pay from you and other workers, contact us at info@mselaborlaw.com.
