Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating whether cooks, food-preparation employees, dishwashers, porters, and other contracted kitchen workers at the D.C. Jail were paid for all hours worked and received the proper contractual wage.
What is the issue?
Preparing meals in a correctional facility requires controlled entry, security screening, sanitation procedures, inventory checks, meal preparation, distribution, and extensive cleanup. Employees may spend significant time inside the facility performing required activities before or after their scheduled paid shift.
Because food service at a correctional facility may be performed under a government contract, employees may also be entitled to a contract wage or benefit payment greater than the ordinary minimum wage.
Workers may have experienced:
- Unpaid security-screening or entry time.
- Being required to change clothes or obtain equipment before clocking in to the D.C. Jail.
- Unpaid food preparation before the scheduled shift.
- Unpaid sanitation, inventory, or closing work.
- Automatic meal deductions during shifts when employees remained on duty.
- Missing overtime during staffing shortages.
- An hourly wage below the applicable government-contract rate.
- Missing fringe-benefit payments.
Signs you may be affected
- You worked as a cook, food service worker, dishwasher, kitchen helper, or other food-service employee at the D.C. Jail.
- You worked for a food-service contractor rather than directly for the District.
- You performed security screening, food preparation, equipment cleanup, or inventory work before or after your scheduled shift without compensation.
- You worked more than 40 hours in a week but did not receive proper overtime pay.
- Your employer automatically deducted meal breaks even though you continued working or remained responsible for your assigned duties.
- You were required to remain on-site or available during unpaid meal periods without being fully relieved from work.
The contractor operating the kitchen may have used one or more staffing companies. D.C. law may permit claims against both the direct employer and the company holding the principal food-service contract.
If you worked as a cook, food-preparation employee, dishwasher, porter, sanitation worker, stock worker, kitchen supervisor, delivery worker, or other food-service employee at the D.C. Jail and believe required time or contract wages were omitted from your pay, please contact Migliaccio & Rathod LLP through the form below, by email at [email protected], or by telephone at (202) 470-3520.