Maryland

Women in Maryland earn 86 cents on the dollar. Latinas have it worse.

Published

2 years ago

March 12, 2024

Women in Maryland earn 86 cents on the dollar. Latinas have it worse.

Maryland labor officials released a report Tuesday concluding that Latina women here earn $1.8 million less in their lifetimes compared with White men doing the same work, one of the largest such earning gaps in the country.

Gov. Wes Moore’s administration released the report on Equal Pay Day, which acknowledges how far into the new year a woman must work to earn the same amount a man already earned in the prior one. This year, it’s 72 days.

In Maryland, women earn 86 cents on the dollar compared with men, according to averaged data from 2018-2022, the report found. The state has a smaller gap overall than the rest of the nation, but a larger one for women of color. For every dollar a White man makes in Maryland, a Latina earns 50 cents and a Black woman earns 56 cents.

Over the course of a career, the gaps compound into more than $1 million less for women of color, compared with what a White man would earn. For Latinas, that’s the fourth worst gap in the country, the report said.

“That’s a lot of money,” said Gabriela Lemus, executive director for advocacy group Maryland Latinos Unidos. “That could make an enormous difference over a Latina’s lifetime, her family’s and her ability … to retire with dignity. It’s the difference between making sure her children have access to what they need and her own needs as she ages out of the workforce.”

The report cited several reasons for the overall pay gap, including a lack of affordable child care, pay secrecy and “occupational overcrowding,” where there is an overrepresentation of certain demographic groups in a single industry.

Democratic women who gathered at the Equal Pay Day event Tuesday promoted a bill that is designed to lessen the gap by requiring that all employers include a pay range in job postings.

She quit her job to ask strangers about pay. The payoff has been huge.

The legislation is poised to pass the Maryland Senate as soon as this week, a milestone not reached by prior versions of the bill.

It builds on a prior 2020 law that forbids employers from asking about salary histories and requires them to provide applicants with a job’s salary range upon request. Maryland’s Equal Pay for Equal Work law already forbids gender pay discrimination.

But this year’s bill only advanced after senators struck provisions that would allow people to file lawsuits for violations of the posting law, instead leaving it up to state authorities to investigate. The Maryland Department of Labor estimated that roughly 120 alleged violations would be lodged each year.

“It’s a form of discrimination that thrives when people lack information about the economic value of the work they’re trying to do. And that’s why the salary transparency legislation is so important,” said state Sen. Ariana B. Kelly (D-Montgomery), who co-sponsored the bill. Del. Jennifer White (D-Baltimore County), who sponsored the House version, said the transparency will not fully close the gender gap but “this creates a more equal playing field.”

About a half-dozen states and several major cities, including D.C., have similar pay transparency laws on the books.

“This is an issue of basic fairness, and this is an issue of economic strength,” Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller (D) said during an event at the Maryland State House, where she noted the long slog toward equality. “You can be sure it is extremely frustrating. But I think everyone in this room, including the tremendous women behind me, know that progress oftentimes is incremental, right?”

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Maryland

Attempted traffic stop leads to arrest of Maryland man wanted for kidnapping

Published

4 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Attempted traffic stop leads to arrest of Maryland man wanted for kidnapping

Frederick County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) announced the arrest of a man wanted for kidnapping on Thursday afternoon.

Suba Washington Jr., 27, of Williamsport, Maryland, was apprehended in Frederick after an attempted traffic stop early Thursday morning, according to deputies.

The pursuit

When officers tried to pull over a Hyundai Elantra in the 7300 block of Crestwood Blvd., the driver, later identified as Washington, refused to stop.

Deputies were later notified that Washington was wanted on charges of kidnapping, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment in Washington County, Maryland.

As Washington fled northbound on Route 85, he struck a car near Crestwood Blvd. and Buckeystown Pike; however, the driver of the vehicle was unharmed as the suspect continued onto northbound I-270 and then westbound I-70.

Washington’s tires were eventually flattened after deputies deployed stop sticks near the Middletown exit.

Though the pursuit still wasn’t over, as the vehicle managed to cross over into Washington County, where the Washington County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) and Maryland State Police (MSP) aided in apprehension.

Washington was taken into custody after his vehicle approached the Route 40 exit, coming to a full stop on the highway.

The charges

A 17-year-old in the passenger seat was found with Washington during the pursuit. The teenager was released to WSCO.

According to FCSO, Washington Jr. was taken to the Frederick County Adult Detention Center and charged with numerous traffic citations, including reckless driving, negligent driving, and two counts of attempting to elude law enforcement.

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Maryland

Maryland to launch study on economic impacts of climate change

Published

16 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Maryland to launch study on economic impacts of climate change

Maryland will launch a study to analyze the economic impacts of climate change to determine the costs associated with storm damage and health outcomes.

The move is part of the Moore-Miller administration’s strategic approach to investing in a clean energy economy and modernizing the state’s energy infrastructure.

“While the federal government has spent the past year rolling back climate protections and driving up energy costs, Maryland is taking a responsible step toward understanding the true price tag of climate change,” Gov. Wes Moore said in a statement. “This study will give us a clear, data-driven look at the real burden taxpayers are shouldering as climate change drives more extreme and costly weather events.”

The RENEW Act Study will be funded by investments and state sources, including $30,000 from philanthropic funding and $470,000 from the Strategic Energy Investment Fund, to assess the burden that Marylanders are paying due to intense weather events and environmental shifts.

Marylanders on climate change

The announcement comes months after Maryland lawmakers opposed a proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to recind its 2009 endangerment finding, which determined that greenhouse gases were a danger to public health.

Lawmakers raised concerns that the move would mean engine and vehicle manufacturers would not be required to measure, control or report greenhouse gas emissions. They also raised concerns that the decision could impact climate change and harm local communities.

The EPA said it intended to retain regulations for pollutant and toxic air measurement and standards. In September, the agency initiated the formal process to reconsider the finding.

In March, a Johns Hopkins University poll found that nearly 73% of surveyed Baltimore City and County residents were concerned that climate change would affect them.

According to the study, city residents were more concerned about personal harm from climate change than county residents. However, county residents expected to see higher costs in the next five years due to climate change.

About 70% of Baltimore area residents believe climate change will increase costs for homeowners and businesses in the next five years, the study found.

An April report ranked the Washington/Baltimore/Arlington region as the 36th worst in the country and second worst in the mid-Atlantic region for ozone smog. The report graded Baltimore County an “F” for ozone smog.

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