A Washington, D.C., restaurant has agreed to pay more than $500,000 to its workers and the city to resolve a 2023 wage theft lawsuit, the D.C. attorney general’s office announced Tuesday.
The lawsuit alleged that Swahili Village, an African fine-dining restaurant located in northwest D.C., systematically stole wages and tips from its staff and violated multiple D.C. labor laws.
The office of D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb claimed the restaurant “engaged in an egregious pattern of wage theft,” frequently paying servers as little as $5 per hour, including tips, and failing to pay overtime wages, distribute tips, and provide legally required paid sick leave.
Under the terms of the settlement, Swahili Village and Kevin Onyona, the restaurant’s founder and CEO, must pay more than $260,000 to 72 workers and $197,614 in penalties to D.C.
It must also pay for a claims administrator who will contact and distribute the money to all eligible workers.
“It is unacceptable, and illegal, for businesses to steal from their hardworking employees, depriving them of the full benefits they have earned and are legally entitled to. Employers that do so are not only exploiting their workers but are gaining an unfair advantage over their competitors who play by the rules,” Schwalb said in a statement. “This is a significant win for dozens of Swahili Village workers who were mistreated and continues our office’s commitment to combatting wage theft in the District of Columbia.”
Many of the restaurant’s employees were young African immigrants, according to the attorney general’s office.
It is the largest settlement against a restaurant since 2017 when the Council of the District of Columbia granted the attorney general’s office the authority to bring wage theft cases, the Washington Post reported.
The defendants, Swahili Village, Onyona, and chief operating officer Emad Shoeb, have admitted no wrongdoing.
Going forward, Swahili Village must provide the attorney general’s office with reports documenting compliance with all D.C. wage and hour laws for the next three years.