The District of Columbia has joined New York and California in enacting a Wage Theft Prevention Act.  And while D.C. employers have been required to provide certain notices since late February, the deadline for providing notices to current employees and meeting record-keeping requirements (including keeping more specific time records) is Wednesday, May 27th.

Wage Theft Prevention laws require employers to provide employees with a detailed notice setting out details about their compensation and how they are employed. While in California these notices need only be presented to non-exempt employees, in New York they must be given to all new employees (a requirement that employees be provided with notices annually was recently repealed).

The D.C. law requires that a notice similar to those required in these other jurisdictions  be provided to all current employees by Wednesday, May 27^th (a sample of the “Notice of Hire” to be provided to employees notice can be found here).  Employers with employees in the District of Columbia need to act fast to provide these notices and post the required posting regarding the Wage Theft Prevention Act by the deadline.

But that’s not all…. the D.C. law also requires employers to record non-exempt employees’ “precise time worked”, rather than just “hours worked”. While the law doesn’t define “precise time worked,” it presumably requires that the employer record the employee’s start time, end time, and the beginning and end of any break time, rather than simply “eight hours worked.” The law requires that employers maintain these records for all employees who are non-exempt under D.C. standards (which are more employee-friendly than federal standards).

Companies with D.C. employees should confirm that notices are provided, that the required poster is posted and that a method for recording “precise time worked” is in effect by the time employees return from the Memorial Day holiday.