Monday, May 14, 2007

Overtime Calculator

Calculating your overtime premium can be a pain. Now the U.S. Department of Labor has an overtime calculator on its website to help with your calculations. Are you owed overtime? Check the calculator to see. (Thanks to Michael Fox at Jottings by an Employer's Lawyer for the link)

Maryland Department of Labor to add Wage investigators

An employee who is owed wages from his or her employer can pursue an action to collect those wages under the Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Law. The employee has two options: (1) hire a private attorney to sue his or her former employer; (2) report the employer to the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation ("DLLR"), Employment Standards Division.

Under Governor Ehrlich, by 2006, the Employment Standards Division had zero investigators devoted to wage payment claims. (For this reason I was reluctant to send employees to the DLLR).

According to the new DLLR Secretary, Thomas Perez, the O'Malley administration added budget money to hire six investigators. As of the ariting of the article cited here, the Department had filled three positions.

Of note:

1. The investigators' starting salary is $24,000 per year.
2. O'Malley's transition teams suggested that Maryland hire 11 investigators.