Award-winning Kenyan businessman and owner of the Swahili Restaurant in Washington DC, Kevin Onyona has been taken to court on accusations of underpaying his employees.
The restaurant he started with his wife through humble beginnings, is said to violate the US’s minimum wage law by paying its staff as little as Sh. 725 ($5) by the hour, inclusive of tips.
The lawsuit which was filed by Washington DC’s Attorney General’s Office further contended that Onyona and his business partner Emad Shoeb neglected to pay workers for overtime and sick leave.
The restaurant adds a 20% gratuity to all checks but allegedly, the pair pocketed large quantities of tips.
They mostly employed African migrant workers and underpaid them by a cumulative of nearly Sh. 725,000 ($5,000). This is despite catering to an elite international clientele.
“Our investigation indicates that Swahili Village DC and its executives, Kevin Onyona and Emad Shoeb, persistently and systematically failed to pay hundreds of hard-working restaurant workers the wages, tips, and benefits they were legally entitled to receive, violating the basic wage, overtime, sick leave, and record-keeping rules that all District employers are required to follow,” Washington DC AG Brian Schwalb said in a statement.
Kevin Onyona and Emad Shoeb have since failed to comment on the matter as they continue to contact their attorneys and gear up for legal defence.
The lawsuit further claims that Onyona and Shoeb failed to keep regular payroll records, keeping employees in the dark about how their pay was calculated.
Some staff clocked over 60 hours weekly without getting overtime compensation. The US law stipulates that pay for overtime is 1.5 times the normal rate.
The pair also failed to give sick leave to employees, reprimanding them for missing work due to illness.
Swahili Village Restaurant, also known as ‘The Consulate’ is a popular DC hangout place for African dignitaries and diplomats.
The restaurant advertises itself as having tasty Kenyan staples such as goat stew, nyama choma and whole tilapia in coconut sauce.
It has received praise from the Kenyan ambassador to the US, Lazarus Amayo.
Onyona established the eatery brand in a tiny space in College Park 2009. Since then, he has opened several branches of Swahili Village Restaurant including M-Street in DC.
His other branches are in Beltsville space and Newark in New Jersey. Kevin Onyona also looks to open new branches in Manhattan and Tysons Corner.