Northwest DC restaurant accused of stealing worker tips settles lawsuit for over $500K

A Northwest D.C. restaurant accused of stealing workers’ tips and cheating them out of wages and benefits is paying over $500,000 to settle a wage theft lawsuit filed by the District’s Attorney General Brian Schwalb last year.

Swahili Village, located along M Street south of Dupont Circle, and its owner, Kevin Onyona, have agreed to pay more than $260,000 to 72 restaurant workers. That includes owed wages and damages, according to a news release from Schwalb’s office.

As part of the settlement, the restaurant has to pay more than $197,000 in penalties to the city, and provide documentation to Schwalb’s office for the next three years, proving that its in compliance with the city’s wage and hour laws.

“It is unacceptable, and illegal, for businesses to steal from their hardworking employees, depriving them of the full benefits they have earned and are legally entitled to,” Schwalb said in a statement. “Employers that do so are not only exploiting their workers but are gaining an unfair advantage over their competitors who play by the rules. This is a significant win for dozens of Swahili Village workers who were mistreated and continues our office’s commitment to combating wage theft in the District of Columbia.”

The lawsuit, which Schwalb’s office said started with an employee tip to authorities, alleges that the restaurant participated in “an egregious pattern of wage theft,” paid workers less than minimum wage and didn’t pay them overtime. It also accused the restaurant of not distributing tips or providing sick leave as is required by law.

WTOP contacted the restaurant for comment on the lawsuit.

Rowles Adams, a former Swahili Village bartender, said a few weeks after the restaurant opened in 2020, “there were some people that weren’t getting paid. Some people weren’t seeing all of their money, me included.”

When it was time to get paid, Adams said workers received checks written out by the manager.

“That was the one thing that really stood out to me that was different,” Adams said.

At other restaurants that Adams worked at, employees got training on software used for calculating tips and managing employee hours. At Swahili, Adams said, “We had people to teach us how to use the software, but when it came down to actually using it and recording funds, I don’t think they were using it properly at all. They were just using it to ring in orders and just make the kitchen functional.”

Some workers expressed frustration with the circumstances, but their concerns were brushed aside, Adams said.

During the pandemic, “nothing else was really hiring so I stuck it out for as long as I could,” Adams said.

Adams added that many workers “were in school, or they had different situations going on at home and in their personal life, where they needed this money and it was just never being accounted for.”