State of Maryland

A Wage and Hour Investigator I is the intermediate level of investigative work reviewing employment practices for the Maryland Department of Labor to assure compliance with State protective labor laws and regulations.  Employees in this classification do not supervise other positions.

Employees in this classification receive moderate supervision from a Wage and Hour Investigator Supervisor.  Investigations are performed at employment sites throughout the state where working conditions may be noisy, dirty or uncomfortable.

Positions in this classification are evaluated by using the classification job evaluation methodology.  The use of this method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work sections of the class specification.

The Wage and Hour Investigator I and Wage and Hour Investigator II are differentiated on the basis of the degree of supervisory control exercised by the supervisor over these employees.  The Wage and Hour Investigator I performs duties under close supervision at times and under general supervision at other times depending on the complexity of the specific duty being performed, while and the Wage and Hour Investigator II performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision.

Conducts investigations of employment practices to determine if employers are covered by State employment laws and regulations;

Conducts investigations and examinations of payroll, personnel and time records or observes employees on the job to determine if employer practices are in compliance with employment laws and regulations;

Cites and interprets employment laws and regulations to employers and other interested persons for purposes of preventing violations;

Uses accepted investigative methods to reconstruct payroll and personnel records and to determine amount of back wages due employees;

Prepares and presents detailed reports of findings and recommendations based on investigations performed;

Inspects places of employment for proper licenses, certificates or work permits for employed minors;

Testifies regarding investigative findings in administrative hearings or court cases;

May review payrolls for public works contracts for compliance with prevailing wage regulations;

May contact employers in person or by letter to collect back wages due and wage penalties;

May specialize in a particular area of employment laws and regulations, such as child labor or sheltered workshops, and give advice, guidance and training to lower-level personnel regarding that area;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of investigative and information gathering techniques;

Knowledge of English grammar usage and spelling;

Knowledge of business and employment practices;

Ability to ascertain facts by personal observation and to report findings clearly and accurately;

Ability to comprehend, interpret and explain employment laws, regulations and procedures;

Ability to make determinations and recommendations based on comparisons of observations to applicable regulations;

Ability to exercise tact, discretion and good judgment in dealing with employers, employees and the general public.

Education: Graduation from an accredited high school or possession of a high school equivalency certificate.

Experience: Two years of general investigative work.

Notes:

1. Candidates may substitute the possession of an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university for the required years of experience.

2. Candidates may substitute thirty (30) college credit hours from an accredited college or university for one year of the required experience not to exceed two (2) years of the required experience.

3. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a non-commissioned officer in the inspection, investigation, enforcement and compliance classifications inspection, investigation, enforcement and compliance specialty codes in the wage and hour investigation field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required experience.

Class specifications are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies. Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

This is a Skilled Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Skilled Service positions.  Some positions in Skilled Service classifications may be designated Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.

This classification is assigned to Bargaining Unit C- Regulatory, Inspection and Licensure classes.  As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded from collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.

Employees in this classification are eligible to receive overtime compensation.  An employee who works more than the normal workweek is entitled to be compensated for that overtime as provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 8-305.

This classification is one level in a Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series.  NCP promotions are promotions by which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full performance levels in a classification series.  In order to be non-competitively promoted to the next level in a NCP series an employee must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class as defined in the Nature of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision defined in the class specification, and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.