Maryland
Maryland named worst state for wage theft in new study
DC restaurants slammed with wage theft fines
Some D.C. restaurants have been fined upwards of $100,000 for failing to pay employees correctly.
BETHESDA, Md. – A new study finds that Maryland ranks as the worst offending wage theft state in the US.
Financial education community, Goat Academy, analyzed data from the US Department of Labor to find the states with the worst wage theft violations and calculated the back wages owed per affected employee to reveal the ranking.
Maryland has the most significant wage theft violations with $2,221 of back wages per employee on average. Virginia places third after Delaware with $1,680.
“Wage theft in the United States is an economic injustice and silent epidemic” said Felix Prehn, a spokesperson from Goat Academy.
What is wage theft?
Wage theft occurs when employees don’t receive the benefits they have earned. It is common and it comes in different forms.Some examples include:
- Paying less than minimum wage
- Unpaid work
- Having short or no lunch breaks
Wage theft is common because employees are not aware of what it is. Saba Waheed, the research director at UCLA’s Labor Center, says “We don’t do labor training in our schools,” and that is why millions of people are victims of it without knowing.
Why is Maryland number one in wage theft?
Companies in Maryland have committed a total of 12,639 wage theft violations since 2021. 2,020 employees are owed a total of $4,486,871 back wages.
Back in 2023 many state employees claimed they were not getting paid for the hours they worked. Others claimed that their overtime had been rounded off and did not receive the extra minutes in their final paycheck. The governor authorized more than $9 million for correctional employees in an expanded settlement over these claims.
Who can file a wage claim?
According to the Maryland Department of Labor any Maryland employee who believes an employer had unlawfully withheld their wages, bonus, overtime wages, or other payment benefits may file a claim for unpaid wages.
Maryland
Inseparable Maryland couple of 70 years died holding hands after tragic car crash: ‘They were simply quite the pair’
A beloved Maryland couple who were married for 70 years died holding hands in their hospital beds after being taken off life support following a horrifying car crash last week.
Kenneth and Marilyn Oland, high school sweethearts who wed in July 1955, died side-by-side Monday in a Baltimore hospital, six days after a car slammed into the side of their vehicle on Route 15 near their Thurmont home, according to their obituary and multiple reports.
Kenneth, 90, who was driving, and his 88-year-old wife were rushed to the hospital and placed on life support after suffering complications from the collision.
“I don’t think one could’ve lasted without the other,” their heartbroken friend, Nancy Echard, told Fox 5.
“That’s how tight they were. You always saw them together, no matter where you were.”
An employee at Thurmont Senior Center, where the couple were regulars who played bingo there twice a month, said they had just finished lunch and left about 15 minutes before the fatal crash.
The senior center posted a touching tribute to the late couple – parents of three, grandparents of five, and great-grandparents of six – hailing them as pillars of the community who were never seen without each other.
“To those of us here at the Senior Center, they were simply quite the pair,” Tuesday’s Facebook post said.
“You rarely saw one without the other, and that was no accident, they were two people who genuinely chose each other, every single day. In the end, even in their passing, they were not apart for long. They were a living reminder of what lasting love looks like, and we were blessed to witness it.”
The loving pair, devout churchgoers, regularly brought flowers to friends in nursing homes and were known for deeply cherishing their friends and large family, always uniting everyone for holidays, birthdays, and celebrations, their obituary said.
Marilyn devoted 25 years to chiropractic care before retiring in 2023, and Kenneth spent his life working in marketing.
Grief-stricken family members were comforted that the elderly couple died together and hope their love and legacy will live on.
“If there’s one thing we could share about my grandparents, it’s not only the 70 years they’ve had together and that they chose to be together every day and chose to go away together and leave this earth together,” their granddaughter Kristie Hopkins told the outlet.
“Their legacy is just how to be humans – be humble and kind and graceful to others and help strangers in need.”
Maryland
Power restored to University of Maryland after campuswide outage
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (7News) — A campuswide power outage at the University of Maryland prompted crews to respond overnight, including dispatching staff to assist people stuck in elevators.
In an advisory, the university said Facilities Management staff were on site assessing the situation and that crews were being dispatched to individuals in elevators.
Just after 1:30 a.m, the university said power was in the process of being restored across campus and that most residence halls had power. The university said steam and hot water would continue to improve as full campus power restoration continued.
SEE ALSO | Iranians rally in DC for democracy and Iranian leadership back home
Pepco said that around midnight, it began receiving calls about an outage impacting the university. Pepco crews responded and determined Pepco equipment was not the source of the outage.
As of publication, university officials have not responded to 7News’ request for a comment.
Maryland
Body pulled from river near Bladensburg Waterfront
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. (7News) — An investigation is underway after a body was spotted in the Anacostia River near the Bladensburg Waterfront in Maryland on Saturday.
The Prince George’s County Park Police confirmed on social media around 4:50 p.m. that officers responded to the area after reports of a dead person in the water.
Authorities said the investigation is in its early stages.
Officials have not released the identity of the person, and the cause of death has not yet been determined.
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