labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Though Maryland’s minimum wage went up in February, I thought I would take a moment to go over Maryland’s minimum wage, in case some of you readers may not know of Maryland’s new minimum wage.

On 12:01 A.M. on February 16^th, Maryland’s raised their minimum wage rate to $6.15 per hour. It is also required, (with certain exemptions) that overtime be paid at a premium rate of 1.5 times minimum wage.

Exceptions to the new minimum wage are as follows. A so-called “opportunity wage” may be paid to all employees under the age of 20 for ninety consecutive days. The opportunity wage is $4.25 an hour. However, employers are prohibited from reducing their current work force in favor of hiring persons under the age of twenty to take advantage of the “opportunity wage,” whether by laying off current employees or cutting their hours in favor of workers under the age of twenty.

Tipped employees, (waiters and waitresses) will make no less than $3.08 per hour if their tips are more than $30.00 per month.

A few more exemptions taken from Maryland’s DOL site: “ Exemptions include certain agricultural workers; executives, administrative and professional employees; employees of educational, charitable, religious, and other non-profit organizations where the employee is working as a volunteer; employees of restaurants, cafes, drive-ins, taverns, and drug stores which sell food and drink for consumption on the premises where the annual gross income is not more than $250,000…”

These employees, depending on age, may be paid the federal minimum wage or special wages as defined by federal and state laws governing those who have disabilities, are of an older age; or are of a younger age.

There are a lot of stipulations in this minimum wage law and also for the paying of overtime. For more information it is advised you see related articles on Maryland, visit Maryland’s Dept. of Labor website or speak to a representative from Maryland’s Dept. of Labor. You can also find detailed information regarding the Maryland wage an hour laws on the Maryland Complete Labor Law poster.

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