More than 100 construction workers in the District will receive restitution after the Office of the Attorney General reached settlements with two drywall companies accused of misclassifying employees and denying them wages and benefits required under District law.
Attorney General Brian Schwalb announced that DR Construction and Consulting, Inc. and Pedro & Pablo’s Construction Company, Inc. will pay a combined $302,739 to workers and the District following an investigation into labor practices at job sites across the city.
“Today, we’re putting money back in the pockets of more than one hundred construction workers who were illegally deprived of wages and benefits they were legally entitled to receive,” Schwalb said in a March 25 statement.
According to the investigation, Pedro & Pablo, a Virginia-based company performing drywall installation and other construction work in the District, classified workers as independent contractors from 2021 to the present instead of employees as required under D.C. law. That classification denied workers access to benefits including paid sick leave and workers’ compensation insurance.
The Attorney General’s office also determined that DR Construction and Consulting (DRCC), a Maryland-based company, relied on subcontractors, including Pedro & Pablo, that misclassified workers at job sites throughout the District. Investigators said they found that dozens of additional workers on DRCC projects were also improperly classified and denied wages and benefits.
Under the settlements, Pedro & Pablo will pay $200,000, including $135,750 in restitution to workers and $57,500 in penalties to the District. DRCC will pay $102,739, including $56,250 in restitution and $46,489 in penalties.
Both companies have agreed to change their business practices, according to the settlement filing. Pedro & Pablo will reclassify its entire workforce as employees and submit to monitoring by the Attorney General’s office through 2027. DRCC will require certified payroll reports from subcontractors, conduct random audits, and stop working with subcontractors that fail to demonstrate compliance or resolve misclassification claims with the District.
Worker misclassification, identified by the Attorney General’s office as a form of payroll fraud, reduces labor costs for companies while denying workers protections guaranteed under District law. Misclassified workers are not provided minimum wage protections, overtime pay, or paid leave, and employers avoid contributing to unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation systems.
Schwalb said the enforcement action is part of ongoing efforts by the Office of the Attorney General’s Workers’ Rights and Antifraud Section, which targets industries where violations are more common, including construction, hospitality, healthcare, and gig work.
Since January 2023, when Schwalb took office as the District’s elected attorney general, he noted that the office has secured more than $23 million for workers and the District. Since gaining independent authority to enforce wage theft laws in 2015, the office has recovered more than $39 million through investigations and enforcement actions.
“You are doing amazing work to protect workers and consumers in D.C.,” social media user Josef Gasimo wrote in reply to Schwalb’s March announcement. “Please keep up doing this to root out noncompliant entities that want to make quick cash without following all the rules!”
The settlements also require ongoing oversight and compliance measures designed to ensure workers on construction sites across the District are properly classified and compensated under the law.
“Misclassifying workers as independent contractors undermines fair competition, cheats the District, and hurts working families who are increasingly stretched thin,” Schwalb said.
