jobs and workplace

Four state employees took home paychecks of more than $1 million last year, according to a review of annual salary data released to The Baltimore Sun.

The Irish economy has experienced a dramatic reversal under the leadership of Prime Minister Enda Kenny, writes Cal Thomas.

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings: I remain convinced that, working together, we can assure that history remembers April 2015 as a time of rebirth for Baltimore and our nation; the moment when we began to truly see all of our people and include them in America's promise of opportunity for all.

The Maryland Economic Development Corp. and two local financial advisory firms raising a $50 million fund for real estate projects in parts of the city and state with high poverty and unemployment.

Maryland employers added 19,300 jobs last month —more than in any other state in the country, according to new estimates the Department of Labor released on Friday.

The Harford County legislative delegation ended the 2016 General Assembly session Monday with the passage of a flurry of bills that will show the county and state's continued support for two slain Harford County Sheriff's Office deputies, allow alcohol to be served in local movie theaters and allow Harford Community College to obtain a license for alcohol sales during community events on campus.

City housing officials should find a way to work with the youthful activists who are rehabbing a vacant house in Sandtown-Winchester

Pitts: Mississippi, the fattest, poorest, sickest state in the Union chooses to rail against LGBT people.

After marathon-long sessions the past two weeks hearing from each of the allied agencies on their needed funding levels, the Carroll County Board of Commissioners will finally get to work Tuesday with deliberations of their own on the budget for fiscal year 2017. No doubt, the process will be a contentious one. Whatever the decisions and discussions leading up to them, they need to happen in the open.

US Foods on Wednesday said it would close a distribution center in Anne Arundel County, shifting operations to facilities in Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Carroll County's economy is poised to have a good year thanks to things like new companies moving into the county and a low unemployment rate, according to a prominent economist in the region.

A $69 million commitment by local businesses and institutions to boost opportunities for the city's poorest residents won't solve all the city's problems but it's a step in the right direction

Recently, I found myself in an online discussion with a gentleman who insisted the Board of County Commissioners are to blame for low teacher salaries since they have not "fully funded" education. I double checked my information and reported back that the money budgeted for the Board of Education had been what Superintendent Stephen Guthrie had requested. I was then told that Guthrie does not ask for enough because he knows the commissioners will not approve his request. This got me thinking

Recently, I found myself in an online discussion with a gentleman who insisted the Board of County Commissioners are to blame for low teacher salaries since they have not "fully funded" education. I double checked my information and reported back that the money budgeted for the Board of Education had been what Superintendent Stephen Guthrie had requested. I was then told that Guthrie does not ask for enough because he knows the commissioners will not approve his request. This got me thinking

It's budget season, and education funding remains a serious challenge to our taxpayers. We are caught in a repetitious "groundhog day" cycle. Each year, enrollments decline, so state funding declines. Then, to make matters worse, declining enrollments artificially inflate our average wealth-per-student calculation, which in turn results in yet lower appropriations from the state.

Senate and House negotiators agreed Monday on the final details of the $42 billion state budget that includes extra aid for Baltimore's schools and no new taxes.

Maryland employers cut 1,800 jobs in February and experienced less job growth in January than previously estimated, according to new estimates released Friday by the Labor Department.

Some Republicans are very fond of lecturing the country on the importance of personal responsibility. Serving a long jail sentence for a minor drug offense? It's your fault for getting involved with drugs in the first place. Requesting unemployment benefits beyond the 72 weeks now allowed by law? You must be lazy and aren't serious about getting a job. A single mother of four struggling to live on welfare? Well, you should have thought about this before having those babies.

Last July, after 45 years as a news reporter, I joined Volunteers in Service to America — "the Domestic Peace Corps." Since then, I have been repeatedly asked, "How do you like your job?" It's a difficult question.

It was fascinating to watch members of Congress question EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy during a congressional hearing about the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Republican members of Congress said that they were shocked that the EPA was unable to force the state of Michigan to respond appropriately to lead in Flint's water supply while children were poisoned for over a year.

The top Democrats running for mayor in Baltimore sparred Tuesday over who bears responsibility for the failed policies of the past, putting the front-runners, former Mayor Sheila Dixon and state Sen. Catherine E. Pugh, on the defensive.

Mayoral hopeful and Democratic state Sen. Catherine Pugh says fostering small business growth is a cornerstone of her economic development plan that is designed to bring jobs, healthy food choices and amenities to underserved communities.

You would expect the workforce of Carroll County Public Schools to be reflective of the demographics of the community. So it's not that surprising to learn that the percent of non-white county school system employees is just 4 percent, whereas the county's make-up as a whole has minority populations at 8.2 percent.

Maryland employers added 1,900 jobs in January, pushing the state unemployment rate down to 4.9 percent, the Labor Department said Monday.

The Carroll County Board of Education discussed a number of issues related to the future of the school system during a meeting that lasted more than four hours Wednesday night.

The Ravens needed a little more salary cap space, and Marshal Yanda was happy to accommodate them.

For many Bethlehem Steel mill workers, their middle-class jobs at the old Sparrows Point plant were a military-style vocation, a tough, dangerous daily grind that required them constantly to support one another.

Waste Management Corp., the trash hauling and disposal giant, plans to hold a hiring event Thursday in Columbia for drivers and technicians.

Don't allow smoking in Maryland casinos for the sake of patrons and employees

Carroll Hospital recognized as fit-friendly worksite by American Heart Association

Gov. Larry Hogan is proposing $20 million in funding for defense and aerospace giant Northrop Grumman, designed to retain the company's newly created Mission Systems divisional headquarters in Linthicum and 10,000 jobs in Maryland.

Claim that chicken processing plant workers are denied bathroom breaks doesn't hold water

Why is saying "no" to extra work so hard for the vast majority of us? It's because we want people to like us and we don't want to disappoint them. We think that saying "no" will be letting someone down and we don't want to seem incapable of handling things. We might even be afraid to say "no." If we want to safeguard our time for personal pursuits and relationships, though, we'll need to learn how and when to say "no" in the workplace.

In his "State of the State" address Wednesday, Gov. Larry Hogan said he has improved Maryland's financial picture. Here's how what the governor said stacks up against the facts.

It is election season again and the talking heads on the boob tube are concentrating on the presidential election. But we here in Carroll County have little to say in that struggle. Blame the folks that wrote the Constitution.

Churches helped in a last-minute push Sunday to enroll people in health insurance through the Maryland Health Connection in advance of Friday's deadline.

The Department of Labor is proposing an update to rules governing which white-collar workers are exempt from overtime pay. The proposal would make an additional five million employees eligible, more than doubling the existing salary threshold from $23,660 to $50,440.

Maryland employers added 10,500 jobs in December, pushing the unemployment rate back down to 5.2 percent, according to estimates the Labor Department released on Tuesday.

The jobs of dozens of low-level state workers at the Springfield Hospital Center in Sykesville are on the chopping block as part of Gov. Larry Hogan's $42 billion state budget.

Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan unveiled the broad strokes of his $42 billion spending plan to legislative leaders Wednesday, promising an array of small tax cuts and putting a large amount of money into savings, according to people briefed on the plan.

Oakland Mills senior guard Theda Jackson hits the go-ahead basket with 12.4 seconds remaining to give the Scorpions their second county win of the year after beating Marriotts Ridge, 52-51 Wednesday.

Sparrows Point Terminal, the Hanover-based firm that owns the site of the former steel mill, has changed its name to Tradepoint Atlantic, a move the company hopes will enhance its global appeal but that evokes feelings of loss.

It's too early to judge the value of requiring businesses to post warning about the adverse health effects of sugary drinks.

If Baltimore wants to reduce crime, there must be a cutback in government programs that coddle the unemployed

Green energy has the potential to transform whole industries and create a new base of manufacturing and blue-collar jobs. What that means locally is that green technology can help retrain and reemploy Baltimoreans with well-paying jobs. These jobs are in demand and represent where the economy is heading — not where it's been.

As the Department of Labor on Friday reported another strong month of job gains, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond said that the Maryland economy is also rebounding, joining the national economic expansion that prompted the bank to raise interest rates last month.

Two firms announced layoffs at Baltimore region offices on Monday, with total cuts impacting of more than 250 workers.

Teacher pay will be an issue this year in at least three suburban school systems as superintendents and union leaders prepare to seek salary increases.