On July 14, 2009, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley issued an executive order creating the Joint Enforcement Task Force in Workplace Fraud.  The task force is comprised of members from several state agencies and is charged with enforcing the state’s wage and hour laws, particularly those laws regarding classification of independent contractors.  Approximately 20 percent of Maryland employers misclassify their employees as independent contractors.  Gov. O’Malley said that the task force “should send the clear message that Maryland will not tolerate employers who try to cheat the system” by misclassifying employees as independent contractors.  New York and New Jersey have previously created similar task forces.

Similarly, Department of Labor (“DOL”) Secretary Hilda Solis said on July 23, 2009, that the Department of Labor is enforcing wage and hour laws more aggressively to “send a message” to employers that they must comply with federal minimum wage, overtime, and other requirements.  The statement was made at a press conference to celebrate a federal minimum wage increase effective July 24.  Solis said that she wanted the DOL to “become a more robust department.”  Indeed, the DOL has collected $82 million in back wages during the first six months of 2009.  The DOL is hiring 250 more investigators and will assign them to industries where wage and hour violations have been the most prevalent, such as the car wash industry.  Solis also said that she wants to work with employers to accomplish compliance with wage and hour laws.  To do that, Solis said the DOL is “coming in with a . . . soft bat.”