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Maryland Jumps on Bandwagon—Adopts Paid Sick and Safe Leave Law

Joining Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, the Maryland Legislature enacted legislation requiring employers in Maryland to provide paid sick and safe leave to employees by overriding Governor Hogan’s veto of the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act (“MD HWFA”). Unless the date for implementation is delayed by the Legislature, the requirements of the Act go into effect on February 12, 2018.

Under the MD HWFA, all employers are required to provide sick and safe leave to eligible employees (defined as any employee who is over 18 years of age and regularly working at least 12 hours per week). Maryland employers who employ 15 or more employees, whether they be full-time, part-time, temporary, or seasonal, will be required to provide paid sick and safe leave in an amount up to five days (or 40 hours) in a year. The law requires that employees accrue sick and safe leave at the rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked up to the maximum of 40 accrued paid leave hours. Alternatively, an employer is permitted to award the entire 40 hours at the beginning of the year. Any accrued sick or safe leave must be paid at the employee’s regular rate of pay and may be used for the employee’s own physical or mental illness, to care for a family member with physical or mental illness, for maternity or paternity leave, and in the event of domestic violence or sexual assault against the employee or a member of the employee’s family. The Act also permits employees to carry up to 40 hours of unused paid leave from year to year.

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