The Wage Commission supports the Minimum Wage, Prevailing Wage and Living Wage Programs whose functions are as follows:
All employers in the City of Baltimore with two or more employees must pay the Minimum Wage, currently $5.85 per hour. A new Minimum Wage of $6.55 per hour will go into effect on July 24, 2008. Routine investigations are conducted to insure compliance. Investigations are also conducted for non-payment of wages, illegal deductions, and various other complaints dealing with wages.
The Wage Commission enforces prevailing wage rates for all city construction projects let by the Mayor and City Council over $5,000. This includes five classifications:
Weekly payrolls are submitted to the agency, checked, and verified by field interviews. Penalties are assessed for late submission of payrolls, paying below the contract rate for specific trades such as carpenter, electrician, ironworker, etc., and not maintaining proper ratios of apprentices to journeymen. Hearings are conducted in relation to any violations. The agency also conducts annual surveys to determine the prevailing wages to be paid on City contracts and makes its recommendation to the Board of Estimates.
All service contracts under Ordinance 442 require the payment of the Living Wage, as determined at the time the contract is let. The current Living Wage is $9.62 per hour and will increase to $9.93, effective July 1, 2008. The Commission also conducts an annual study using federal poverty guidelines to determine the future wage rate to be paid. The recommendation is then submitted to the Board of Estimates.