January 23, 2024
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
In its biannual report, Philly's Office of Worker Protections publicly names employers who have not resolved labor law violations. Eight companies are currently on the bad actors list, including two added in the 2023 report.
Each year, the city's Office of Worker Protections investigates hundreds of complaints of wage theft, denied sick leave and other labor law violations. In 2023, the office closed 181 cases after receiving 1,200 inquiries.
When employers do not resolve complaints or respond to investigators, however, they are added to a "bad actors" list published in the office's biannual reports. The list, which was introduced in 2020, is designed to essentially shame companies into compliance. In the latest report, published Monday, the list names eight businesses, including two that are newly added.
Making Life Easier, a cleaning service, and Angel Companions of Philadelphia, which specializes in senior home care, are the latest additions to the bad actors list. They join Divine Mercy Homecare, Flexright Solutions, Frank Fleming's General Contractors, Pavescapers, Plenty Cafe and Vesbro/Escape Room Philly, which have all been on the list since at least 2021. Three of those employers — Pavescapers, Plenty Cafe and Frank Fleming's General Contractors — have appeared on the list since it began.
Though the list has not compelled those companies to act, a spokesperson for the labor department said that over 90% of complaints filed with the Office of Worker Protections had been resolved since 2020. During that same four-year period, "roughly over a dozen" businesses were sent final notices about inclusion on the bad actors list.
"All employers published on the public bad actors list are notified before the list is published, with plenty of notice, that continued non-compliance or lack of response will result in being published on the list," the spokesperson continued via email. "We have seen that with this notice, employers have become responsive and met their determination before their name is listed, or even after the list is published."
Angel Companions of Philadelphia declined to comment on the report. A representative for Making Life Easier disputed the company's inclusion on the list, saying they had sent city officials proof of payment to the complainants and received no reply.
Companies can be removed from the list if they cooperate with the office's investigators and implement required changes. Carvalho Construction, which was named in an earlier 2023 report, was removed after meeting compliance.
2023 was a big year for the Office of Worker Protections, which recouped $327,976.56 for Philadelphia workers between last January and December. The sum is a record-high for the office, and an 82% increase from 2022. Its inquires also increased by 28%.
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