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Trump heads to Texas after catastrophic flooding, avoiding criticism he's heaped on other governors; Trump threatens a 35% tariff on Canadian goods, and he may double what most other nations are charged; USDA funding pause could stall conservation momentum in MI, nation; New Ohio weapons plant to bring over 4,000 jobs; Report: Occupational segregation leads to pay gap for MA women.

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NOAA nominee says he supports cutting the agency's budget. Many question why Ukraine's weapons aid was paused. And farmers worry how the budget megabill will impact this year's Farm Bill.

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Rural Americans brace for disproportionate impact of federal funding cuts to mental health, substance use programs, and new federal policies have farmers from Ohio to Minnesota struggling to grow healthier foods and create sustainable food production programs.

Maryland worst state for wage theft, study finds

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Friday, January 31, 2025   

An analysis of U.S. Labor Department data by financial education organization Goat Academy finds Maryland leads the nation in the average wages stolen from workers.

Maryland led all 50 states in the average amount of wages owed to employees, at more than $2,200. Bay State neighbors Delaware and Virginia trailed Maryland with the second and third highest averages.

Amy Gellatly, an attorney in the Workplace Justice Project at the Public Justice Center, said those figures may just be the tip of the iceberg.

"There's so many structural barriers to get a worker to the point where they feel confident that they know their rights are being violated," she said. "They decide they want to do something about it; they know where to go."

Gellatly added that workers in certain industries historically have issues with wage theft, including those in construction, home care, cleaning services, food services and retail.

Misclassification, Gellatly said, is also a major issue in wage theft, when an employer classifies an employee as an independent contractor. Independent contractors don't receive the same benefits as an employee, such as unemployment insurance or workers compensation if injured on the job.

Gellatly said Maryland could, like other states, pass a law that a person who does work for another is considered an employee, not a contractor. She added that people could be considered contractors if they are really in business for themselves -- and setting the conditions of their labor.

"What we're seeing across the country is like the 'gigafication' of work," she said. "So, you have the entity that really is in control of setting the terms and conditions of a person's employment, but they won't directly hire the worker, as a way to try to separate themselves from responsibility and then turn a blind eye."

In total, more than $128 million in back wages are owed to U.S. employees.


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