Ever open your paycheck to see that it is hundreds of dollars less than what you are owed?
Well, Maryland state workers, represented by AFSCME Council 3, have been battling the state for months over this exact issue. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan botched the implementation of a new payroll system that left dozens of workers underpaid. Late fees, negative marks on credit reports, and all-around anxiety about making ends meet were the reality for many of these working families.
Maryland state employees now have recourse after the state legislature passed the paycheck recovery bill, which allowed workers to receive financial compensation for incorrect paychecks.
“People were really suffering,” said Council 3 Pres. Patrick Moran. “We couldn’t settle for a promise to pay. Week after week, these hard-working women and men went without knowing if they would be paid correctly. Members stood up, held rallies and lobbied the legislature to get real security that if they were underpaid, they would be made whole.”
The paycheck recovery bill allows for compensation up to 300 percent of the amount owed to employees who are shortchanged. Hogan allowed the bill to become law without his signature on May 26 but has yet to accept responsibility for his failure to implement the new payroll system,
“Now, like the private sector, state employees have a remedy for being shortchanged,” Moran said.