Almost 3,900 current and former employees of the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services will be paid more than $13 million to resolve what union officials called a wage theft scheme.
The settlement approved Wednesday by the three-member Board of Public Works, dates back to claims over the last three years and includes workers at all state prisons.
“While the Department of Labor’s investigation is still ongoing, the one thing we know for certain is that the federal government found that thousands of dedicated, hardworking employees were underpaid for hours of work they performed at the department,” said Gov. Wes Moore (D). “We not only owe them this now overdue back pay, frankly we owe them an apology.”
The agency was one of two known to be under investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division for under-paying employees.
The agency determined that the state engaged in wage theft.
Patrick Moran, president of AFSCME Maryland Council 3 said the department changed start and stop times of employees. The changes resulted in employees not being paid overtime for the hours they worked.
“It was overwhelming, it was everywhere,” said Moran, whose union represents the correctional system employees and is the largest state employees union in Maryland.
Moran called the settlement “the second largest wage theft settlement for correctional officers in United States history.”
The settlement is an extension of an initial investigation of the agency...
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