Maryland’s highest court, the Maryland Court of Appeals, has just issued a decision that makes clear that Maryland-based employees can sue for owed overtime wages and recover three times the amount owed, as provided in the Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Law.
In addition, in the recent case Peters v. Early Healthcare Giver, the Maryland Court of Appeals stated that it is the employer’s burden to prove that an employee is not entitled to three times the amount of the owed wages. This means that a guilty employer has to prove through admissible evidence that it had some good faith basis to not pay overtime -- which will not necessarily be an easy task for an employer to accomplish.
Lastly, Maryland’s highest court instructed trial courts to consider “the remedial purpose of the Maryland Wage Payment Collection Law when deciding whether to award enhanced damages to employees.” The court stated that the purpose of the Maryland law was to prevent “wage theft” and that the triple-damages penalty was enacted to ensure that employees are paid the wages owed to them.
Lebau & Neuworth believes this is a good decision in protecting worker rights and to get the wages owed to them.
If you believe you qualify for wages owed to you from an employer, contact Lebau & Neuworth and we might be able to assist you!
