TUNE IN: I'm proud to join @EdLaborCmte to testify in support of the Payroll Fraud Prevention Act, a bill that will help deter a type of #payrollfraud that hurts workers, undercuts law-abiding businesses and cheats taxpayers.
#WageTheft is when employers refuse to pay employees what they're rightfully owed—and it is ILLEGAL.
One type of this fraud is called #WorkerMisclassification where an employer improperly classifies an employee as an “independent contractor” to unlawfully cut payroll costs.
Companies that illegally misclassify employees as independent contractors are:
❌Stealing from workers
❌Evading taxes
❌Able to underbid law-abiding competitors
A recent study commissioned by our office found that companies that misclassify employees in DC can illegally reduce labor costs anywhere from 16% to 48%.
These employers often target low-wage and immigrant workers who may not fully understand their rights or how to seek relief.
This #WorkerMisclassification causes concentric harm—beginning with the worker, and radiating across the industry and to taxpayers.
I am encouraged that the proposed Payroll Fraud Prevention Act seeks to punish and deter this pernicious form of #wagetheft.
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BREAKING: My office is suing Commanders owner Dan Snyder, the Commanders, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and the NFL for colluding to deceive District residents—the heart of the Commanders’ fanbase—about an investigation into toxic workplace culture.
After public reporting revealed that sexual misconduct, harassment, and misogyny ran rampant for decades at the team, the defendants promised DC residents that the league was going to fix this toxic culture, including by fully cooperating with an independent investigation.
That was all a lie.
Instead, the NFL turned a blind eye to Snyder’s extensive efforts to silence or intimidate witnesses, and the NFL and Commanders entered into a secret agreement that gave Snyder power to veto the release of any results.
NEW: Today, we’re suing Michael Saylor - a billionaire tech executive who has lived in the District for more than a decade but has never paid any DC income taxes - for tax fraud.
We’re also suing his company, MicroStrategy, for conspiring to help him evade taxes he legally owes on hundreds of millions of dollars he’s earned while living in DC.
It's the 1st lawsuit brought under DC’s recently amended False Claims Act encouraging whistleblowers to report residents who evade our tax laws by misrepresenting their residence. Led by @ChmnMendelson, @councilofdc unanimously updated the law & gave us enforcement authority.
NEW -> We took action against Wawa, alongside 6 other states, for failing to protect their customers’ personal information & allowing a data breach that compromised close to 44,000 DC residents’ data.
Wawa failed to implement effective data security measures and, as a result, hackers breached their computer network and stole customers’ sensitive payment card information.
In failing to protect customers’ data, Wawa violated DC consumer protection & data breach laws.
Now, we’ve secured nearly $240,000 in penalties to the District.
Additionally, Wawa must implement and maintain data security practices to strengthen its information security program and protect consumers’ personal information.
There have been some inaccurate assertions made in the past few days about how my office prosecutes crimes that I want to correct. Follow along.
My office prosecutes all violent crimes committed by juveniles where we have strong evidence, as the standard of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt, and where the arrest is constitutional.
Anyone, including a young person, who commits a violent crime should be held accountable.
Accountability is not inconsistent with our efforts to help them get the services and support they need so they are less likely to reoffend, making our communities safer.
To address the increases in violence, DC needs leadership & a clear, consistent, all-hands-on-deck response.
BREAKING: Today my office filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon for illegally abusing and maintaining its monopoly power by controlling prices across the online retail market and violating DC law.
For years, Amazon has controlled online retail prices through its restrictive contract provisions & policies. Amazon requires third-party sellers to agree that they won’t offer their products anywhere else online – including their own websites – for a lower price than on Amazon.
These agreements also impose an artificially high price floor across the online retail marketplace & ensure high fees charged to third-party sellers by Amazon, as much as 40% of the product price, are incorporated into the price on not only Amazon but also on competing platforms.