October - December 2021
OLS investigated Alki Beach Restaurant (Cafe) LLC, for alleged failure to provide an employee with PSST. The former owner settled the investigation and paid a total financial remedy of $2,078.76 to one affected worker.
GoPuff, a large digital delivery service, agreed to an informal resolution under the Premium Pay for Gig Workers Ordinance after an OLS inquiry into compliance with the law's premium pay provisions. The company paid a total financial remedy of $1,781.30 to a single complainant.
DoorDash, Inc., a large food delivery network company with over 250 Seattle gig workers, agreed to an informal resolution under the Gig Worker Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance after an OLS inquiry into an allegation that the company failed to pay a worker the correct average daily compensation rate for PSST. The company agreed to issue a total financial remedy of $833.78 to one worker.
OLS determined that Xian Noodles LLC dba Xian Noodles, a limited-service noodle restaurant with two Seattle locations and about 70 employees, committed numerous violations of the PSST and Wage Theft Ordinances. Allegations included the restaurant's and restaurant owner's failure to pay employees for all hours worked; failure to pay overtime compensation; failure to provide meal and paid rest breaks to kitchen staff; the owner's unlawful participation in the employee tip pool; failure to provide or allow employees to use PSST; failure to permit employees to accrue PSST; failure to maintain a compliant written PSST policy; and failure provide required PSST balance notifications to employees. The total financial remedy was $397,115.28, consisting of $302,822.43 to 67 affected workers and $94,292.85 to the City of Seattle.
Blue Street Delivery LLC, a freight hauling business with one location in Seattle, settled allegations under the Fair Chance Employment (FCE) Ordinance. OLS alleged the company's job ad categorically excluded applicants with felony convictions. Under the FCE Ordinance, no employer shall advertise, publicize, or implement any policy or practice that automatically or categorically excludes all individuals with any arrest or conviction record from any employment position that will be performed in whole or in substantial part (at least 50% of the time) within the City of Seattle. The total financial remedy was $556.30 to one aggrieved job applicant.
OLS investigated Julia's in Wallingford, Inc. dba Julia's Restaurant in Wallingford, a restaurant with one location in Seattle, for alleged violations of the PSST and Wage Theft Ordinances that occurred under previous ownership. OLS alleged the restaurant, and its former owner did not have a compliant PSST policy; failed to provide information concerning PSST accrual, use, balance, and carry-over to employees; and did not provide all employees with access to PSST. OLS also alleged the employers required employees to arrive early and wait to clock in until customers arrived and failed to pay those employees for all time spent waiting to clock in. The restaurant and former owner settled these allegations with a total financial remedy of $9,620.90, with $9,445.90 to 13 affected workers and $175 to the City of Seattle.
LBB Capitol Hill LLC dba Little Big Burger, a franchise operator of one Little Big Burger location in Seattle and a subsidiary of Amergent Hospitality Group, Inc., settled allegations under the Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance. OLS alleged the employer provided employees with a PSST policy that violated the PSST Ordinance by unlawfully capping employee use and accrual of PSST, requiring employees help cover shifts missed due to PSST or be subject to discipline, requiring a doctor's note for an employee's return to work after absences of three days, and failing to provide required information. OLS also alleged that Little Big Burger's employees were unable to use their accrued PSST. The total financial remedy was $21,654.29, which included $21,097.99 in back wages, interest, liquidated damages, and civil penalties to 45 workers and $556.30 in fines to the City of Seattle.
OLS investigated Traffic Management, Inc. dba Traffic Management Industries (TMI) under Seattle's PSST, Minimum Wage, and Wage Theft Ordinances. TMI, a traffic control company with more than 1,000 workers worldwide, employs workers in Seattle and elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest; the Rocky Mountain, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Great Lakes regions; and throughout California. OLS alleged TMI provided its employees with a lower PSST accrual rate than the rate required for an employer of its size and paid workers less than Seattle's minimum compensation for work performed in Seattle from October 2017 to June 2019. Additionally, OLS alleged the company failed to consistently provide its workers with 30-minute, uninterrupted, unpaid meal breaks when they worked more than five hours and 10-minute, paid rest breaks for every 4 hours worked. OLS also alleged that the business required workers to report to a location outside Seattle to be transported in company vehicles to Seattle job sites, without paying for compensable travel time. TMI settled these allegations and agreed to pay a total financial remedy of $250,263.05 to 244 affected workers.
OLS investigated Carpe Diem Pizza, Inc. dba Domino's Pizza, a franchise operator of 14 Domino's Pizza locations in Seattle and more than 30 Domino's Pizza locations through the Puget Sound area. The employer settled allegations under the Secure Scheduling, Minimum Wage, and Wage Theft Ordinances. OLS alleged Carpe Diem Pizza, Inc. dba Domino's Pizza did not consistently provide employees with schedules at least 14 days in advance, failed to provide employees with a good faith estimate of work schedules, and failed to pay any premium pay for changes to employee schedules with less than 14-day advance notice. Additionally, OLS alleged the employer did not pay the Seattle Minimum Wage to delivery drivers for time spent making deliveries in Seattle when drivers worked from a location on the Seattle border and did not consistently pay overtime compensation to employees who worked over 40 hours in a workweek across multiple locations. Carpe Diem Pizza, Inc. dba Domino's Pizza agreed to pay a total financial remedy of $2,177,855.08 to 1,330 affected workers, and $600.00 to the City of Seattle.
Purple Store, LLC dba The Purple Store, a retail store with one location in Seattle,settled allegations under the PSST and Wage Theft Ordinances. OLS investigated allegations that the employer had no written PSST policy, did not consistently provide employees notification of their PSST balance and accrual each time wages were paid, and failed to pay promised bonuses to some employees. The business and its owner reached a settlement with OLS and agreed to pay a total financial remedy of $5,463.48, which included $5,063.48 in back wages, interest, and liquidated damages to 3 affected workers and $400 in fines to the City of Seattle.
OLS investigated River Up LLC dba Miss Café, a café with one location in Seattle, for alleged violations of the PSST, Minimum Wage, and Wage Theft Ordinances. OLS alleged the employer had no written PSST policy, did not allow employees to use accrued PSST, failed to pay some employees the correct minimum compensation when tips were insufficient, and failed to pay some employees the correct overtime rate (time-and-a-half) for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The employer settled the investigation and agreed to pay a complete financial remedy of $10,910.11 to 11 affected workers and $100 in fines to the City of Seattle.