Just what does DLLR do?

Many Maryland residents don’t have a very good idea of what else the state agency that certifies elevators does, according to Department of Labor Licensing and Regulation Secretary Thomas E. Perez.

Perez says this doesn’t work very well, especially for a consumer protection-focused department (fun fact: also the state’s third largest tax collector behind the Maryland Comptroller and the Federal Government).

“If people are victims of mortgage scams but they don’t know to call us, then we’re not doing our jobs,” Perez said at a meeting at The Daily Record Thursday.

So what’s he doing? Well, he’s going to the very source of much public awareness of his department: the elevator certification tag. The department is now listing facts about its activities on the certificates for all to see. Here are some examples:

Did you know? Last year DLLR’s Division of Labor and Industry investigators recovered more than $1 million of unpaid wages earned by hard-working Marylanders.

Did you know? Each year DLLR’s safety unit inspects almost 1,400 miles of railroad track, 3,800 amusement rides, nearly 6,000 high-pressure boilers, and more than 18,000 elevators to keep Marylanders safe.

But seriously, DLLR’s worth knowing about because it contains the state’s top financial regulator, oversees the horse racing industry, and manages unemployment claims among many other things. How does your business interact with DLLR?

-ANDY ROSEN, Business Writer