Over 5,000 Maryland correctional workers will receive a $9.5 million payout, after a federal investigation found that the State tampered with their time cards. The Board of Public Works approved the deal Wednesday.

This is the second multimillion dollar settlement. Carolyn Scruggs, secretary of public safety & correctional services, said some workers had been left out of the original settlement back in July. “We saw from the previous settlement that we needed to go back and look at all classifications that had the word ‘correctional' in it. So the dietary officer, the correctional maintenance officer, the correctional supply officer,” said Scruggs.

She added that time clocks have been adjusted so that workers are paid the right amount. According to Scruggs, the Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services has implemented a new overtime policy which the union, AFSCME Council 3 is looking over.

While some say the years-long matter can be brought to a close, Patrick Moran, the union president, disagrees. Moran — who was accompanied by correctional officers — listed off the amounts some workers had stolen. One of the officers, employed at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women, is expecting $10,000 in back pay.

“Somewhere along the way, someone thought they could steal a couple minutes of our time here, and a couple of minutes there, but it adds up,” said Shane Wolford, a correctional officer, who works in the maintenance department at the North Branch Correctional Institution in Cumberland.

Union leaders claim the wide scale wage-theft, totaling $23 million, happened under former Gov. Larry Hogan (R). “It's a disservice to the employees that no one has been held accountable,” said Moran. “Are they still working in state government? Are they working in county government? They have no place in government, because they do not have the trust of the taxpayer.”