DC Employers Required to Give Employees Written Notice of Employment Terms

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Washington DC has passed a new law (DC B 671) that will soon require employers to provide employees with written notice outlining the terms of their employment.  The law also clarifies the administrative procedures for adjudicating wage disputes and enhances remedies, fines and administrative penalties against an employer that fails to pay earned wages. Further, it specifies notice requirements for temporary staffing firms.

Written Notice

Specific facts employers must include in the written notice are:

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

The notice must be provided in English and in the employee’s primary language. Employers must obtain and retain the employee’s signed and dated receipt of notice, also signed by the employer. Employers have 90 days from the law’s effective date to provide employees with that notice. Notice must also be provided at the time of hiring and when any terms change. Failure to provide the notice can cost an employer $500 per violation and extend the employee’s time to commence a wage collection action.

Posted Notice

Employers must post a summary of the law within 60 days of its effective date. The penalty for failure to post is $100 per day, unless the Mayor has failed to develop the required notice. CPC will release the new posting as soon as it becomes available.

The District is expected to issue a sample notice for employers to use in developing their own notices and also a workplace posting. The law is expected to take effect in mid-December.