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The District of Columbia passed a new Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act of 2014 (the Act) effective February 26, 2015. This act requires employers to provide a written notice to each D.C.-based employee containing specific information about the employee’s terms and conditions of employment.

Do We Need to Comply?
Effective immediately, employers must provide this notice to all new employees when they are hired. Additionally, they must provide the notice to all current employees by May 27, 2015.

Employers’ Compliance Obligations
All employers with employees based in D.C. must provide them with the following information:

  1. The employer’s name
  2. Any “doing business as” names used by the employer
  3. Physical address of the employer’s main office or principal place of business
  4. Employer’s mailing address
  5. Employer’s telephone number
  6. Employee’s rate of pay and the basis of that rate (by the hour, shift, day, week, salary, piece, commission)
  7. Any allowances claimed as part of the minimum wage: tip, meal, or lodging allowances
  8. A copy or explanation of the company’s tip pool policy (if applicable)
  9. The employee’s overtime rate of pay or, in the alternative, the basis for the employee’s exemption from eligibility for overtime pay
  10. Living wage applicability, and/or exemptions from the living wage
  11. Where applicable, the prevailing wage, classification(s) of work the employee is expected to perform, related wage rate, and any fringe benefit applicable
  12. Information about how to contact the Department of Employment Services (DOES) Office of Wage-Hour (OWH), the designated enforcement agency
  13. Request that the employee disclose his or her primary language; and
  14. An employee acknowledgement (employers must keep copies of the signed acknowledgment)

The above is a basic breakdown of the requirements under the Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act and is not meant to be a full list of every requirement.

Posting Requirements
Employers must also post a summary of the provisions of the Act in a “conspicuous and accessible place.” A notice summarizing the Act’s requirements is available on the DOES website.

Template Forms and Delivery Methods
Model notices are available to employers; the DOES has issued two template notices in English, one for general use and one for use by temporary staffing agencies, each including “instructional guides” to assist in compliance. A Spanish language version should be issued soon. The documents are available on the DOES website.

Key Points and Next Steps for Employers

  • You must provide the notice to new employees hired on or after February 26, 2015, at the time of hire (before work is performed). The notice of acknowledgement should become part of the New Hire process, similar to the W-4 form.
  • You must provide the notice to current employees on or before Wednesday, May 27, 2015.
  • Use the link provided above to access DOES templates to complete these notices and provide them to each of your employees working in D.C. Contact the DOES for the Spanish template, if applicable.
  • Collect and maintain the employee acknowledgements in each employee’s personnel folder. You are required to keep the signed and dated notices and acknowledgement for at least three years and provide a copy to the employee.
  • Post the notice issued by the DOES summarizing the Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act.

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