October-December 2022

OLS received a referral from community partner, the Eritrean Association of Greater Seattle, and opened an investigation of Welltower, Inc., dba Cogir of Queen Anne, a senior living residence, for alleged violations of the Paid Sick and Safe Time (PSST) Ordinance. OLS investigated allegations that the employer, which has one Seattle location, failed to allow an employee the use of PSST and failed to provide accurate PSST notifications. The total financial remedy was $1,971.89, which included back wages and interest, liquidated damages, civil penalties, and fines payable to the employee. Additionally, the business agreed to reinstate 100 hours of Paid Time Off for the employee, some of which qualified as Paid Sick and Safe Time under SMC 14.16.

OLS investigated Gopuff, a large digital delivery service, for alleged violations under the Paid Sick and Safe Time for Gig Workers Ordinance. OLS alleged that for over a year and a half the company failed to provide delivery workers with paid sick and safe time (PSST) as required by the ordinance, failed to provide workers notice of their PSST balance, and failed to provide workers with a notice of rights and the company’s PSST policy. The company agreed to pay a total financial remedy of $735,239.37 to 189 drivers and $23,021.24 to the City of Seattle.

OLS initiated an inquiry into alleged labor standards violations by Trader Joe’s Company, a grocery store chain with five stores and several hundred employees in Seattle and more than 500 stores and over 50,000 employees nationwide. Following OLS’s inquiry, Trader Joe’s Company agreed to a settlement under the Hazard Pay for Grocery Employees Ordinance and the Wage Theft Ordinance. OLS alleged that Trader Joe's Company did not include hazard pay when determining an employee's regular rate of pay for the purposes of overtime (as required) between February 3, 2021 and September 2, 2022. Instead, OLS alleged, employees at Trader Joe's Company were paid one and one-half times the base rate of pay in addition to $4.00 hazard pay per each overtime hour worked. As part of the settlement, the company agreed to pay $55,009.51 in settlement payments for back wages, interest, liquidated damages, and civil penalties, to 95 employees.

OLS investigated WA Fan Tuan Inc. dba Fantuan Delivery, a food delivery network company, for alleged violations of the Paid Sick and Safe Time (PSST) for Gig Workers Ordinance and the Premium Pay for Gig Workers Ordinance. Owned by Just Orders Enterprise Corporation, Fantuan Delivery has over 50 workers in Seattle and over 4,000 workers worldwide. OLS alleged the company failed to provide PSST to workers for the first 90 days after the PSST Ordinance was enacted, failed to provide workers with notification of PSST balance for a time, failed to include required information in the company’s PSST policy, and failed to comply with the law’s verification provisions. Under the Premium Pay for Gig Workers Ordinance, OLS alleged the company failed to provide premium pay when the ordinance was first enacted and failed to itemize premium pay for a time. The total financial remedy was $197,855.55 which included $180,589.62 in back wages, interest, liquidated damages, and civil penalties to 168 gig workers and $17,265.93 in fines to the City of Seattle.

Sunset Hill Veterinary & Rehabilitation, Inc. settled with OLS following an investigation of alleged violations of the PSST Ordinance. Allegations included: 1) failure to allow an employee to use PSST; and 2) retaliation against the employee by initiating a performance meeting and terminating the employee after the employee requested to use PSST. The employer, which operates one location in Seattle, agreed to pay a total financial remedy of $14,131.54 to the former employee. The employer also agreed to attend OLS' management training webinar on the PSST Ordinance.

OLS investigated HungryPanda US Inc. dba HungryPanda, a Food Delivery Network Company, for alleged violations of the Paid Sick and Safe Time for Gig Workers Ordinance and the Premium Pay for Gig Workers Ordinance. HungryPanda has over 20 workers in Seattle and over 350 workers worldwide. OLS alleged that for the first seven months the PSST for Gig Workers Ordinance was in effect, HungryPanda failed to provide PSST to workers, failed to provide workers with notification of PSST balance, failed to provide workers with the company’s PSST policy, and failed to provide workers with a notice of rights. Under the Premium Pay for Gig Workers Ordinance, OLS alleged the company failed to provide premium pay when the ordinance was first enacted, failed to itemize premium pay for a time, and failed to provide workers with a notice of rights. The total financial remedy was $186,336.86, which included $179,145.48 in back wages, interest, liquidated damages, and civil penalties to 148 gig workers and $7,191.38 in fines to the City of Seattle.

OLS investigated Guru Nanak Restaurants Inc. dba IHOP for alleged retaliation against an employee exercising their rights under the PSST Ordinance. Specifically, the employee called out sick and was then subsequently terminated for engaging in a protect activity. Guru Nanak Restaurants Inc. dba IHOP is a full-service restaurant with two locations in Seattle that employs approximately 100 employees. The total remedy amount issued to one employee is $5,681.05 for back wages, interest, liquidated damages, and penalties.

OLS investigated Bold Hat Productions, Inc. and its owner for alleged violations of the Minimum Wage, Wage Theft, and Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinances. Bold Hat Productions, Inc. is an event production and marketing company with one location in Seattle that employs approximately 10 employees and regularly hires 50+ paid volunteers to put on events. Respondents settled allegations under the Wage Theft and the Minimum Wage Ordinances. OLS alleged Respondents misclassified interns as unpaid interns while they were performing duties as employees. The employees were not paid for hours worked, and thus did not receive the required minimum wage or overtime payments. The total financial remedy is $29,773.10 for two employees for back wages, interest, liquidated damages, and civil penalties. Respondents also agreed to management training, to maintain payroll records for all employees, and to establish a time keeping system to track all hours worked by employees and interns.

Uber, a large transportation network company and food delivery network company with over 15,000 Seattle workers, agreed to an informal resolution under the Gig Worker Paid Sick and Safe Time (PSST) Ordinance in which OLS alleged the company failed to provide drivers with accrued PSST days because of a technical issue with Uber’s PSST tool. Uber agreed to fix the software glitch and make settlement payments totaling $79,332.31 for back pay, liquidated damages, and civil penalties to 84 affected drivers. 

Uber, a large food delivery network company and transportation network company (TNC) with over 15,000 Seattle workers, agreed to an informal resolution under the Gig Worker Paid Sick and Safe Time (PSST) Ordinance. OLS alleged that drivers were unable to request and use PSST for several weeks in December 2022 due to a technical glitch affecting Uber’s PSST app. Uber agreed to make settlement payments to 533 affected drivers totaling $171,935.40 for back pay and civil penalties. Uber also agreed to continue to provide TNC drivers with access to all accrued unused PSST days through April 30, 2023. Due to a Washington state law which preempted Seattle’s PSST ordinance, PSST benefits under Seattle’s ordinance were set to expire for TNC workers on December 31, 2022.