Like several other states, Maryland requires that employers provide sick leave. Maryland sick and safe leave ensures employees receive paid or unpaid time off when they cannot work.
What are the details of the Maryland sick leave law? Read on to find out.
What is Maryland sick and safe leave?
The Maryland Healthy Working Families Act established sick leave in the state, effective in 2018. Maryland’s sick leave is known as “Maryland Earned Sick and Safe Leave.”
Maryland Earned Sick and Safe Leave requires that employers in the state provide sick leave for illness, injury, preventative care, and more.
Do all employers need to provide paid sick leave in Maryland?
All employers must either provide paid or unpaid sick leave, depending on how many employees you have.
| Number of Employees You Have | Paid or Unpaid Sick Leave? |
|---|---|
| 15 or more employees | Paid |
| 14 or fewer employees | Unpaid |
You must determine your employee count by looking at the average monthly number of employees during the preceding year. Include all employees (full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal) in this count.
Add up each month’s employee count, and divide the total by 12.
Let’s look at an example. You have the following number of total employees in each month of last year:
- January: 12
- February: 12
- March: 13
- April: 16
- May: 19
- June: 20
- July: 20
- August: 20
- September: 15
- October: 15
- November: 15
- December: 10
Add together the employee count per month, and you’ll get 187. Divide 187 by 12 months, and you’ll get an average of 15.58 employees, which is “15 or more.” You must provide paid sick leave.
How much Maryland paid sick leave do you need to provide?
You can either provide a lump sum of sick leave at the beginning of the year or let employees accrue it based on hours worked.
The accrual rate is one hour of sick leave per 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours per year.
Can employees roll over unused Maryland sick leave?
Accrual: Yes, employees can carry over earned but unused sick and safe leave if they accrue hours. Employees can roll over up to 40 hours, but they cannot accrue more than 64 hours at any time.
Lump sum: You are not required to let employees carry over unused sick leave if you provide a lump sum at the beginning of the year.
You do not need to pay out unused sick leave if an employee leaves. However, you must reinstate their sick leave balance if you rehire them within 37 weeks of leaving.
When can employees use Maryland earned sick and safe leave?
Employees must accrue sick leave as soon as they start working for you. However, you can require that employees wait 106 calendar days before using earned leave.
What can employees use sick and safe leave for? The following are reasons an employee can use sick leave:
- Physical or mental illness, injury, or condition treatment or care
- Preventative medical care for self or a family member
- Care for a family member with a physical or mental illness, injury, or condition
- Maternity or paternity leave
- Obtain medical or mental health attention, obtain services from a victim services organization, obtain legal services or proceedings, or temporarily relocate due to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking (self or family member)
What if you already offer PTO?
You do not need to offer additional sick leave if you already have a paid time off (PTO) policy with benefits that are equal to or greater than the Maryland law on sick leave.
Maryland sick and safe leave eligibility and exemptions
Employees whose primary work location is in Maryland can enjoy sick and safe leave, but there are exceptions.
The following are examples of employees who are exempt from accruing and using Maryland sick leave:
- Employees who regularly work less than 12 hours per week
- Certain independent contractors
- Individuals younger than 18
- Agricultural employees
- Certain construction workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement
For more information on employee exemptions, check out Maryland’s FAQ page.
What do employers need to do?
To comply with the Maryland sick leave law, you must:
- Display the sick and safe leave notice, which is available in English and Spanish
- Provide paid (15 or more employees) or unpaid leave (14 or fewer employees)
- Update your payroll and set accrual limits for tracking earned and used sick leave
- Provide employees with a statement of used and available leave each pay period (e.g., on a pay stub that employees can access in their employee portal)
You can ask employees for proof of leave (e.g., doctor’s note) if they are out for more than two consecutive scheduled shifts. Employees must give you advance notice if taking leave is foreseeable. You may deny leave in certain circumstances, according to the Maryland Department of Labor.
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With Patriot’s payroll software, you can:
- Set up accrual rules to automatically accrue sick leave for employees
- Track each employee’s paid sick leave balances
- Give employees an easy way to track their paid sick leave balances
- Pay employees for paid sick leave
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This is not intended as legal advice; for more information, please click here.
