Maryland Sick and Safe Leave

This guide provides essential information about Maryland sick and safe leave and how it applies to your business. The law applies to any employer with at least one employee in Maryland, including full-time, part-time, and temporary workers who regularly work at least 12 hours per week, with some limitations. 

Sick Time Requirements Based on Employer Size:

• Determining Employer Size: For the purpose of this law, the number of employees typically refers to those performing work within Maryland. Employers should review the full text of the law or consult legal counsel if they are close to the employee count thresholds to ensure accurate classification.
• Employers with 15 or more employees (large employers): Must provide at least 40 hours of paid sick leave per year, with a maximum usage cap of 64 hours.
• Employers with 14 or fewer employees (small employers): Must provide at least 40 hours of unpaid sick leave per year, with a maximum usage cap of 64 hours.

Accrual Rate: 

All eligible employees must accrue sick leave at a minimum rate of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours per year. 

Carryover: 

• Employers with an accrual method must allow employees to carryover up 40 hours of unused hours into the next year, subject to a 64-hour usage cap per year regardless of employer size.
• Employers with a front-load method that provide the full 40 hours are not required to allow carryover of unused leave, if sick leave is provided at the beginning of the year. 
• Non-profits may also be exempt from carryover rules for employees on non-renewable, one-year grants.

There are other requirements under the state sick leave law, which you may read more about here. Some of these requirements are also detailed further below. Employers can also read up on general sick leave best practices here. 

Employee Eligibility & Use

All employees in Maryland are entitled to paid sick leave, with a few exceptions. Employees may use earned sick time for themselves or a family member for any of the following reasons:

• mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition;
• medical care, a medical diagnosis, or treatment, as well as receiving preventative medical care services; 
• maternity or paternity leave;
• absences due to matters relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking and;
• bereavement leave purposes.

Some employees are exempt from this law, such as employees under the age of 18 before the beginning of the year, as well as certain temporary service agency workers.

You should review the law and resources at the bottom of this page to understand additional requirements under the Maryland law, such as increments of use, how hours are determined for exempt and salaried employees, how pay is calculated, who is a “family member,” what type of notice and documentation an employer may require, pay statement requirements, and how sick time is handled upon termination of employment. 

Interaction with an Employer’s Existing Policies

An employer’s paid time off (PTO) plan or other type of paid leave (including sick or vacation time) can satisfy this law if, at a minimum, the plan meets the law’s requirements (e.g., accrual, carryover, and use requirements of the sick leave, etc.). Additionally, nothing prohibits an employer from providing more generous leave policies than the minimum required by the law.

Notice Requirements

Employers must provide written notice to each employee at the time of hiring that includes, but is not limited to:

• employees are entitled to paid sick leave;
• amount of paid sick leave to which employees are entitled;
• terms of paid sick leave’s use;
• the employee's right to bring a civil action or file a complaint with the enforcement agency for a violation, and;
• retaliation against employees who request or use paid sick leave is prohibited.

The state provides a sample notice of sick leave for employers to use, and sample policies. 

If you set up a separate sick leave policy in Justworks as a PEO customer, we will automatically add this balance information to employees' paystubs, and it is available to your employees at any time when they log into the Justworks platform. 

Limitations on Paid Sick Leave

Employees in Maryland begin accruing sick leave on their first day of work but may have to wait up to 106 calendar days before earned leave can be used. 

An employer is not required to pay out accrued, unused paid sick time when an employee separates from employment with the employer. 

Keep in mind that if a separated employee is rehired within thirty-seven weeks of separation, the employer must reinstate any previously unused earned sick time for immediate use and accrue additional earned sick time at the time of rehire.

Local Paid Sick and Safe Leave

Several cities and counties in Maryland have separate paid sick and safe leave regulations and ordinances. Jurisdictions with paid sick leave ordinances are listed below, and that list continues to grow. Some of these local ordinances offer more generous sick leave entitlements than the state requirements.

If more than one paid sick leave law applies, you must comply with the provisions of each law that most benefit the employee. Your paid sick leave policy and practices should be reviewed periodically by your legal counsel for the states and localities in which your employees are working to ensure compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, and to ensure that your policy and practices are appropriate to your particular situation.

*Exemptions may apply to employees who work less than 8 hours per week or certain on-call workers.

Resources & Notes

• Help Center: Sick and Safe Leave
• Maryland Department of Labor: The Maryland Healthy Working Families Act (MHWFA)
• Montgomery County, The Office of Human Rights: Earned Sick and Safe Leave Law
• Mineral: Maryland Sick Leave*
• Mineral: Montgomery County, Maryland, Sick Leave*

* Be sure you’re logged into your Justworks account with administrator permissions to access Mineral, which is included for Justworks PEO customers. If you’d like to learn more about Justworks PEO, contact Support at 888-534-1711.

Disclaimer

This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for accounting, legal or tax advice. If you have any legal or tax questions regarding this content or related issues, then you should consult with your professional legal or tax advisor.