Maryland Employment Law

The Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, and disability. The Act covers employers with 15 or more employees and complaints must be filed within 300 days (or 6 months for some claims) with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. Maryland has progressively expanded its protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Maryland Healthy Working Families Act requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide paid sick and safe leave, and employers with 14 or fewer employees to provide unpaid sick and safe leave. Employees earn at least 1 hour of leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours per year. Leave may be used for the employee's own illness, to care for a family member, or for reasons related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

Employers with 15+ employees that provide paid leave must allow employees to use such leave to care for an immediate family member with an illness.

Prohibits sex- and gender-identity-based pay discrimination for comparable work; bans pay-secrecy retaliation; salary-history ban + pay-range disclosure on request added in 2020 and 2024.

Prohibits hospitals and related healthcare employers from requiring nurses to work mandatory overtime except in emergencies. Anti-retaliation included.

Employers with 50+ employees that close, relocate, or reduce workforce by 25% or 15 employees (whichever greater) must provide 60 days' notice and continuation benefits. Originally voluntary; mandatory effective Oct 1, 2020.

Voids non-compete agreements for employees earning less than $15/hour or $31,200/year (as of original enactment; threshold raised to 150% of state minimum wage by 2023 amendments). Effective 2019; 2023 expanded.

Adds explicit pregnancy/childbirth accommodation duty to Maryland FEPA. Employers with 15+ employees must provide reasonable accommodations including transfer to less-strenuous positions.

Protects healthcare workers from retaliation for reporting patient-safety violations, fraud, or refusing to participate in illegal acts. (Limited beyond healthcare — Maryland's general private-sector whistleblower coverage relies on Wholey common-law abusive-discharge tort.)

Protects state employees who disclose violations of law, mismanagement, gross waste, abuse of authority, or substantial threats to public health/safety.

The Montgomery County Human Rights Law prohibits employment discrimination and covers all employers with 1 or more employees operating in the county. It provides protections that in some areas exceed Maryland state law, including explicit coverage of immigration status, source of income, and family responsibilities. The law is enforced by the Montgomery County Office of Human Rights.

Provides a local enforcement mechanism for wage theft claims in Baltimore, with potential for enhanced penalties. Covers all workers performing services within Baltimore City limits.

Baltimore's anti-discrimination ordinance provides comprehensive employment protections including gender identity protections that complement Maryland state law. Covers all employers with 1 or more employees.