http://www.elinfonet.com/starticles/21 Articles discussing workplace law in Maryland. Fri, 04 Jul 2008 23:07:15 EST en-us http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=2277 Article: 2277 Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Governor Martin O'Malley has signed the Maryland "Flexible Leave Act" into law. Effective October 1, 2008, Maryland businesses employing 15 or more employees must allow their employees to use any form of accrued leave with pay to care for an immediate family member who is ill. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=2224 Article: 2224 Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley signed into law emergency legislation amending the Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Law, Md. Code Lab. & Empl. §§ 3-504 & 3-505, on April 24, 2008, to provide employers with a safe harbor against the requirement that they pay out accrued paid leave upon termination of employment. Under the new law, an employer's written vacation pay or other paid leave policy will govern whether the employer is required to pay out unused accrued leave upon termination of employment. The amendment is retroactive and covers employees whose employment terminated after November 1, 2007. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=2211 Article: 2211 Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Maryland recently amended its Wage Payment and Collection Law, Md. Code §§ 3-501et seq., in a manner that affords employers a powerful statutory defense to employee lawsuits for monetary compensation and/or trebled damages for not compensating a departing employee on termination for accrued unused leave. As amended, the Maryland law now provides that an employer's written leave policy will dictate whether or not the employee is entitled upon termination to recover accrued unused leave provided the leave policy was communicated to a new employee at the time of hire. It provides no shield to employers that do not have a written policy that limits compensation for accrued leave to a terminated employee. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=2067 Article: 2067 Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Montgomery County, Maryland, has amended its Human Rights law to add "gender identity" to the list of categories that are protected from discrimination in employment, housing or public accommodation. As a result of this amendment to the Human Rights and Civil Liberties Chapter of the Montgomery County Code, employers will be prohibited from discriminating against employees or applicants for employment based on their gender identity. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=2055 Article: 2055 Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Employers' lawsuits against employees who have engaged in protected activity are not necessarily unlawfully retaliatory, the Supreme Court of Ohio held in Greer-Burger v. Temesi, Slip Op. No. 2007-Ohio-6442 (2007). http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=2052 Article: 2052 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Unused vacation time is a "wage" under Maryland law and must be paid to departing employees regardless of the employer's policy, Maryland's Labor Department has ruled. The agency responsible for administering Maryland's wage and hour laws has quietly reversed its longstanding position on an employee's right to payment of unused vacation at termination. The Employment Standards Service of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR) previously maintained that employees had no right to payment for accrued, unused vacation at termination, so long as their employers' policy clearly denied them such a right. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=2040 Article: 2040 Wed, 02 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Unused vacation time is a "wage" under Maryland law and must be paid to departing employees regardless of the employer's policy, Maryland's Labor Department has ruled. The agency responsible for administering Maryland's wage and hour laws has quietly reversed its longstanding position on an employee's right to payment of unused vacation at termination. The Employment Standards Service of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR) previously maintained that employees had no right to payment for accrued, unused vacation at termination, so long as their employers' policy clearly denied them such a right. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=2028 Article: 2028 Thu, 20 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Beginning January 1, 2008, Maryland imposes new obligations on how businesses use and maintain personal information about individuals residing in the State, which likely would include employees and applicants for employment. Indeed, employers have an inherent need to obtain personal information about employees and applicants for employment for many purposes, including identification and verification of employment status, background checks, benefits and leave administration, contact information and simply for running their businesses. How employers use and maintain such information is increasingly subject to legislation in many states. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=1907 Article: 1907 Fri, 27 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) The Maryland Legislature has amended its discrimination statute, Article 49B of the Maryland Code, in a manner that will expose Maryland employers to increased damages and new judicial risks in state court lawsuits. The new provisions became effective on October 1, 2007. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=1865 Article: 1865 Fri, 25 May 2007 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, on May 17, 2007, signed the Clean Air Act of 2007, extending the state's smoking ban to bars, restaurants, and private social clubs such as the American Legion. Maryland's smoking ban in office buildings and other indoor workplaces, except for bars and restaurants, has been in effect since 1995. The new law, effective February 1, 2008, also establishes, for the first time, civil penalties for noncompliance. The Maryland Senate passed the bill 31-16, and the House of Delegates approved the bill with a 100-40 vote.