The D.C. First Source program was created to provide D.C. residents with job opportunities generated by development. However, the Department of Employee Services failed to effectively implement 80 percent of the law. Its failure is painful to say the least. One in every five D.C. residents lives in endemic poverty, while one in four children suffer from poverty. D.C. has hundreds of thousand more jobs than working age children so the inequality and poverty in the District does not stem from a shortage of jobs. Quite the reverse, the issue stems from residents who are not hired or being paid below the wage needed to afford the cost of living. That is why it is beneficial for employees to join a union, where they have the power to negotiate to ensure they are compensated fairly and have healthcare for them and their families.

John Boardman, executive secretary-treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 25—a D.C.-area union that represents hotel employees—shared this concern, saying "a significant piece of hours included should not be included." But Boardman said his suspicion is "hard to verify because we can't get at the source documents."