Maryland settles with state workers for wage theft, former UMD professor for discrimination

The state Board of Public Works awarded nearly $222,000 to nine employees of the Maryland Department of Health whose wages were undercut while performing multiple jobs within the agency.

Patrick Moran, president of AFSCME, the union representing the employees, said that certain employees were being asked to sign contracts under former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration to do additional work beyond what is required of their permanent positions, and were subsequently compensated at lower rates.

Members of AFSCME’s bargaining team addressed the underpayments with human resources representatives from the Department of Health in the fall of 2022. According to Moran, an investigation by the Department of Budget and Management found that more than 40 Department of Health employees were “illegally contracted to do additional work within the agency.”

“Effectively, the agency had knowingly engaged in wage theft, paying them at a lower rate than they would otherwise be owed as state employees,” he said.

The board also approved a $140,000 settlement to a former University of Maryland, College Park, professor who alleged she was subjected to discrimination, a hostile work environment and unlawful termination because of her religion.

Melissa Landa was a professor at the University of Maryland’s Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership from 2007 to 2017. A lawsuit was filed by the American Center for Law & Justice on Landa’s behalf, alleging that the school had violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion.

The complaint, which identifies her as Jewish and “a religious Zionist,” alleges that Landa faced discrimination, hostility and retaliation from university and departmental leadership for demonstrating solidarity with academics in Israel, her work in raising awareness of antisemitism and a trip she took to Israel during Passover in Spring 2016. It also argued she was unlawfully terminated in 2017 when she was informed, without explanation, that her contract would not be renewed with the university four months after she had filed a faculty grievance.

Landa filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in June 2018, which found that it was “reasonable to believe” that she was terminated “in retaliation for complaining about religious discrimination,” the complaint reads.