October-December 2024
OLS investigated Instacart for alleged violations of the Gig Worker Premium Pay (GWPP) Ordinance. The network company operates nationwide and has several thousand gig workers in Seattle. OLS alleged the company failed to provide the correct premium pay to some workers and failed to provide workers with a Notice of Rights. The company settled the allegations and agreed to pay a total financial remedy of $259,959.08 to 2,766 affected workers and $6,228.50 in fines to the City of Seattle.
OLS investigated Kisaku, a sushi restaurant with a single location, for alleged violations of the Wage Theft and the Paid Sick and Safe Time (PSST) Ordinances. OLS alleged that the restaurant's owner impermissibly participated in the tip pool in violation of the Wage Theft ordinance. Under the PSST Ordinance, OLS alleged that the restaurant did not have a PSST policy or poster; required employees to provide verification for absences shorter than 3 consecutive days; and impermissibly capped employee use of PSST at 40 hours per person, per year regardless of the amount of PSST employees had accrued. OLS ordered payment of $97,617.95 in back wages, interest, and liquidated damages to 53 workers, and assessed $20,975.30 in civil penalties to the City of Seattle on behalf of 54 total individuals.
OLS investigated Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (Expeditors) for alleged violations of the Fair Chance Employment (FCE) Ordinance. Expeditors is publicly traded, has corporate and regional headquarters in Bellevue and Seattle, has over 235 offices worldwide, and employs over 18,000 people in international freight forwarding and consolidation, customs brokerage, and goods distribution. Allegations included that the company rejected a job applicant based solely on their criminal conviction record, failed to provide a reasonable opportunity to explain the conviction, failed to conduct a legitimate business reason analysis, and automatically excluded all individuals with a felony conviction from employment in Seattle. Expeditors settled the allegations, agreed to pay a total financial remedy of $7,986.05 to 1 job applicant and agreed to implement a written policy to ensure it does not automatically or categorically exclude applicants for having a felony conviction when they apply for jobs working at least 50% of the time in Seattle. It also agreed to seek necessary authorization to hire the previously rejected applicant, offer them a job if authorization is granted, or pay lost wages.
OLS investigated Ponder and its owner for alleged violations of the Wage Theft Ordinance. Ponder, which closed in 2022, was a cannabis retail store with one location in Seattle's Central District. Specifically, OLS investigated allegations 1) that the company and its owner failed to pay the hourly rate that its handbook and other materials promised to pay employees for working on holidays when the store remained open for business, 2) that they allowed a salaried manager to impermissibly participate in the employee tip pool, and 3) that they did not provide required notice of employment information upon hire. The company and its owner settled the allegations and agreed to pay a total of $22,798.70 to 31 former employees, including back wages, interest, and a civil penalty per aggrieved party.
OLS investigated American Medical Response Ambulance Service, Inc. dba American Medical Response (AMR) for alleged violations of the PSST Ordinance. AMR has more than 30,500 employees worldwide with over 1,300 employees working in Seattle. OLS alleged the employer failed to pay the correct rate for differential shifts when PSST was taken, and that the employer retaliated against one employee who raised the issue with his superiors and AMR’s payroll department. AMR settled the allegations and agreed to pay a total financial remedy of $157,385.37 to 792 affected workers, and $1,330.59 to the City of Seattle for a complete total remedy of $158,715.96.