| Fair Employment Practices | The Maryland Fair Employment Practises Act (FEPA) forbids employers with 15 or more workers from discriminating based on protected traits like race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin/ancestry, marital status, disability unrelated to job performance, and genetic information.
Additionally, FEPA opposes harassment, regarded as a form of discrimination. |
| Pregnancy Accommodation | According to Maryland's Reasonable Adjustments for Disabilities Due to Pregnancy Act, employers must make reasonable adjustments for momentarily incapacitated workers because of pregnancy unless doing so would burden the business excessively. |
| Equal Pay | According to Maryland's Equal Pay for Equal Work rule, companies are not allowed to pay employees of one gender less than those of the other if they work in the same institution and do similar tasks.
In Maryland, it is illegal for an employer to retaliate against an employee who freely exposes their or another person's pay through inquiries, discussions, or disclosures. Unless they receive the salary information outside of their regular duties, the law does not protect employees who regularly have access to wage information. |
| Credit Checks | The Job Application Fairness Act usually prohibits a covered Maryland company from utilizing a credit report to decide whether to hire a job application, fire an employee, or what kind of salary or other benefits to offer an employee. |
| Drug Testing | If specific processes are followed, a Maryland company can provide drug and alcohol tests to potential employees. |
| Minimum Wage | The minimum wage in Maryland is $12.80 for small businesses and $13.25 for large businesses. |
| Overtime | Nonexempt employees must be paid 1.5 times their regular hourly rate for all hours worked more than 40 in a workweek, with some exceptions. |
| Child Labor | Minors under the age of 16 are normally barred from working in dangerous vocations, and they are also restricted from several other jobs, including manufacturing.
With rare exceptions, a minor may not be hired or allowed to labor for longer than five hours straight without a break of at least one and a half hours. |
| Pay Frequency | Aside from that, an employer must schedule regular paydays and has the option of paying staff bimonthly or semimonthly. |
| Wage Notices | When an employee is employed, the employer must inform them of their pay rate, regular paydays, and any leave benefits to which they are entitled (for example, vacation time). |
| Health Care Continuation | According to the Health Care Continuation coverage statute, it is mandated that persons who lose group coverage due to specific qualifying events, such as termination of employment, the death of a covered employee, or divorce, be granted continuation coverage. Typically, coverage can last up to 18 months. |
| Paid Family and Medical Leave | Maryland has a paid family and medical leave insurance (PFML) program that, starting on January 1, 2025, offers qualified employees access to paid leave benefits during specific qualifying events. This program is funded by employer and employee payments. On October 1, 2023, employer and employee contributions to the state's PFML fund started. |
| Paid Sick Leave | To be eligible for leave, an employee must put in at least 12 hours per week of labor. Sick and safe leave can be used for maternity leave, paternity leave, reasons related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking committed against the employee or a family member, as well as to care for a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or condition. |
| Other Time Off Requirements | A Maryland employer must adhere to additional leave and time off laws, such as those governing military family leave, bone marrow, and organ donation leave, emergency responder leave, military leave, civil Air Patrol leave, jury duty leave, crime victim and witness leave, and voting leave, in addition to the MFLA, PLA, and MHWFA. |
| Smoke-Free Workplace | In Maryland, it is a legal requirement for all employers to ensure that no indoor workplaces allow smoking. As the law requires, each entrance must have a sign saying smoking is prohibited. |
| Safe Driving Practices | It's against the law to text and operate a handheld device while driving. |
| Final Pay | The following normal paycheck must pay all earnings owed to terminated employees. If certain policy and communication criteria are followed, an employer cannot pay accrued leave to a terminated employee. |
