The Maryland labor law guide

Maryland law requires that employers must pay all employees who separate from employment (including those who resigned or were terminated, laid off or suspended) their final paycheck by the next scheduled payday.

Sexual harasssment reporting

Employers with 50 or more workers must submit a report of the following by July 1, 2022:

1. The number of settlements made by or on behalf of the employer after an allegation of sexual harassment by an employee;
   The number of times the employer has paid a settlement to resolve a sexual harassment allegation against the same employee over the past 10 years of employment; and
   The number of settlements made after an allegation of sexual harassment that included a provision requiring both parties to keep the terms of the settlement confidential.

Maryland Pay Practices

Employers must pay their employees at least biweekly or semimonthly on regular paydays the employer chooses in advance. They may pay exempt executive, administrative, or professional employees less frequently. New employees must be provided with notice of the following: Their rate of pay; Paydays; Leave benefits.

If a regular payday falls on a non-workday, wages must be paid the workday before. Each pay period, employers must provide employees with a statement of their earnings and deductions. Social Security Numbers may not appear on employees’ paychecks, pay statements, or direct deposit notifications.

Maryland Whistleblower Protection

Healthcare employers may not discharge or discriminate against an employee for doing any of the following: Reporting an alleged violation of the law. participating in an investigation or proceeding regarding a violation of the law, or opposing or refusing to participate in a violation of the law.

Maryland COBRA laws

COBRA is a federal law that allows many employees to continue their health insurance benefits after their employment ends. Because federal COBRA only applies to employers that have 20 or more employees, many states have adopted their own versions of the law, which are known as “mini-COBRAs.” Maryland’s mini-COBRA allows employees to continue their coverage for up to 18 months. Each individual certification of coverage must contain a notice of the right to continue coverage and employers must notify an employee that continuation coverage is available.

Maryland Background check laws

Employers who run background checks should ensure they’re following the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which are available here.

Maryland requires that employers conduct background checks on employees in the following entities: Public schools; Private or nonpublic schools; Childcare centers. Institutions, or homes; Day care homes; Juvenile detention, correction, or treatment facilities; Foster care family homes or group facilities; Children’s camps; Childcare resource and referral centers; Associations that have a pool of potential temporary or substitute employees for registered family day care providers or licensed day care centers; Healthcare institutions or organizations; Adult dependent care facilities; Private home detention monitoring agencies.

Maryland Credit and Investigative Check laws

Employers may not obtain credit checks on applicants or employees unless either the employer or the applicant or employee falls under certain exceptions.

Maryland Arrest and Conviction Check laws

Employers may not ask applicants about expunged records. Additionally, the Maryland Office of Fair Practices has issued a “Guidelines for Pre-Employment Inquiries Technical Assistance Guide,” which indicates that employers should not ask applicants about arrest or general conviction records.

As of February 29, 2020, Maryland adds a “ban the box” law, which prohibits employers with 15 or more full-time employees from asking applicants about their criminal history prior to an in-person interview, unless required by state or federal law or the employer provides services or direct care to minors or vulnerable populations. Employers may ask about an applicant’s criminal history during the first in-person interview or any time thereafter.

If employers want to inquire about conviction records, they should only ask about those that are directly related to the job and then consider the nature of the crime, the recency, and any efforts made toward rehabilitation.

Maryland Telephone Monitoring laws

Maryland is an “all parties” consent state, meaning every person on a phone call must be aware that they are being monitored or recorded and have consented by placing or continuing the phone call.

This means employers may monitor or record phone calls between their own employees only if each employee has been given notice that phone calls may be monitored or recorded.

However, phone calls placed by employees to outside parties may not be monitored or recorded unless the outside party has also consented.

Compliance Calendar

Get our Compliance Calendar to stay on top of deadlines throughout the year: View it on your computer. Click + Google Calendar in the lower right to add it to your Google Calendar and subscribe to all updates. You can also download a calendar (.ics) file that you can import into iCal or Outlook, or download a PDF to your computer.  

Remember, this is not official legal advice.

COVID-19 Resources

View the resources available to Maryland business owners and workers impacted by the coronavirus outbreak in our state-by-state COVID-19 Resource Center.