The
Maryland Healthy Working Families Act (Act) requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide earned sick and safe leave paid at an employee’s regular wage rate. This Act went into effect on February 11, 2018.
Frequently Asked Questions:
The Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation has now released Frequently Asked Questions. Some of the highlights are as follows:
Which employers are required to provide earned sick and safe leave?
All employers with employees whose primary work location is in Maryland are required to provide earned sick and safe leave, regardless of where the employer is located. Employers with 15 or more employees are required to provide paid earned sick and safe leave. Employers with 14 or fewer employees are required to provide unpaid earned sick and safe leave.
Who is entitled to accrue earned sick and safe leave?
All employees who work in Maryland are entitled to accrue sick and safe leave unless they are exempt from coverage under the law.
Does the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act preempt local county paid sick leave laws?
The Act preempts local paid sick and safe leave laws enacted on or after January 1, 2017. Only Montgomery County enacted a sick and safe leave prior to January 1, 2017.
In calculating the 15-employee threshold, should the employer include employees that work in Maryland as well as employees in other states?
The commissioner of labor and industry will consider only those employees employed in Maryland. All employees working in Maryland will be considered in determining the 15-employee threshold, including part-time, seasonal, and temporary employees.
Does this law apply to an employer who is based out of state and has employers who work in Maryland? What about a Maryland employer with employees who live and work in another state?
The law applies to employers with employees whose primary work location is in Maryland, even if the employer is located out of state. Employers whose primary work location is in Maryland are entitled to accrue leave under the Act. If a Maryland company has an employee who lives and works exclusively in another state, the employer could—but would not be required to— provide sick and safe leave to that employee.
Can an employer front-load earned sick and safe leave at the beginning of the year, and if so, what are the implications for leave carryover? What happens if an employer does not front-load earned sick and safe leave?
An employer may elect to award 40 hours of paid/unpaid earned sick and safe leave at the beginning of the year. The employer designates when the year starts and ends. If an employer front-loads the leave, the employer may establish a policy whereby the employee is not permitted to carry over any unused leave at the end of the year. Alternatively, an employee can accrue earned sick and safe leave at the rate of at least one hour for every 30 hours the employee works. Under the latter approach, employees are permitted to carry over earned sick and safe leave up to the maximum amount of 64 hours.
Can an employer front-load sick leave for full-time employees but provide that part-time employees earn leave on an accrual basis?
Yes. An employer could front-load leave to full-time employees but provide that part-time employees earn leave on an accrual basis. The department recommends that such a policy be in writing, clearly communicated, and applied consistently to all employees.
What are the requirements for tracking earned sick and safe leave?
The law does not require an employer to track employee leave in a specific manner. An employer is required to provide each employee with a statement of used, available, and unpaid leave each pay period. This requirement can be satisfied with an online system to which employees have access. Additionally, if an employee files a complaint, the employer must be able to demonstrate to the commissioner (1) how many hours the employee worked, (2) how much sick and safe leave the employee accrued, and (3) how much sick and safe leave the employee was permitted to use.
In what increments can an employee use earned sick and safe leave?
The law provides that an employer may establish a minimum increment for leave use, but that the increment cannot exceed four hours. Therefore, an employer may allow an employee to use leave in any increment provided that the employer does not have a policy requiring employees to use leave in increments greater than four hours.
For a copy of the entire 10 pages of Frequently Asked Questions, please click on the link provided below.
http://www.dllr.maryland.gov/paidleave/paidleavefaqs.pdf
Call to Action: Employers with employees in Maryland should review their policies, forms, practices, and supervisor training to ensure compliance with the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act. Please contact your Service Team with any questions.