Photo by Tim Brown

From The Office of the Attorney General:

“Attorney General Karl A. Racine today announced that Monsanto will pay $52 million to resolve a lawsuit over the company’s production, promotion, and sale of toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that damaged the District’s natural resources and put the health of residents at risk. The settlement with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) resolves a May 2020 lawsuit which alleged that Monsanto sold PCBs for nearly 50 years, despite knowing that these chemicals would pollute waterways, kill wildlife, and cause significant health problems in humans, including cancer and liver damage. There are at least 36 bodies of water in the District with high levels of PCB contamination, including the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers. OAG’s lawsuit sought to force Monsanto–which manufactured over 99 percent of the PCBs ever used in the U.S.–to pay for clean-up of PCB contamination in the District. This settlement, secured just two months after the lawsuit was filed, is OAG’s largest recovery to date in an environmental action. Read More

From OAG:

“Attorney General Karl A. Racine today announced that Turning Natural, Inc.–a local chain of juice bars–will pay more than $10,000 in unpaid wages to 22 employees as part of a settlement in a wage theft case with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). The case, announced last July, alleged that Turning Natural failed to pay employees minimum wage and overtime, and failed to provide sick leave, as required by District law. Per the settlement, the company will return an average of $484 to each worker, and offer retroactive sick leave to seven current employees. Turning Natural will also pay $5,000 in civil penalties to the District. Read More