Federal, state, and sometimes local laws affect the employment relationship.
If you are a Maryland employee in the private sector, and you do not have a collective bargaining agreement or an individual employment contract, you are an employee at will. This means that your employer may terminate your employment at any time, with any reason, so long as that reason is not illegal. This page provides some of the laws that forbid termination of employment for reasons such as discrimination, retaliation for raising discrimination issues, or retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim.
Federal Law
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids discrimination in the terms and conditions of employment based on a person's race, sex, color, national origin, or religion.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act forbids discrimination on the basis of age, protecting workers who are at least 40 years old.
The Americans with Disabilities Act forbids discrimination against employees with disabilities. The law's recent amendments strengthen the
protection afforded workers.
The Family and Medical Leave Act requires certain employers to provide unpaid leave for up to 12 weeks per year to an employee with a serious health condition, or to care for the employee's family member. The recent amendments give more leave to those caring for returning armed service personnel.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 allows a worker who is paid less than someone of the opposite gender for the same work to sue for the wage differential.
Maryland Law
Anti Discrimination and Retaliation
The Maryland General Assembly revised the state’s anti-discrimination law, effective October 1, 2007. The law now permits state residents to use the state courts to enforce the anti-discrimination laws, which in many cases will be more favorable than the federal courts. Like the federal law, the state law applies (in most counties) to employers of fifteen or more full-time employees. Also like the federal law, employees are required to file a charge of discrimination with an administrative agency, the Maryland Commission on Human Relations. The charge must be filed within six months of the discriminatory action, and suit must be filed within two years. The employee also has the right to pursue a case in an administrative forum, the Office of Administrative Hearings.
In addition to the private cause of action, which is a huge step forward, the state law expands the categories of illegal discrimination. The law states that an employer violates the law in any of the following circumstances:
"To fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to the individual's compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic information, or disability unrelated in nature and extent so as to reasonably preclude the performance of the employment, or because of the individual's refusal to submit to a genetic test or make available the results of a genetic test."
Wage Payment and Collection Act
Maryland law requires employers to pay employees for work performed, and allows them to sue for violations. The Wage Payment and Collection Act provides for the possibility of tripled damages unless the employer shows that there was a good faith dispute about the wages owed, and attorney's fees for a successful employee.
Use of Sick Leave with Pay
Maryland employees who earn sick leave through their employment have the right to use that paid leave time to care for a sick spouse, parent or child. This right overlaps, but does not completely mirror, the Family and Medical Leave Act. Under this law, any illness is covered, and employees of smaller companies the right to take advantage of their paid leave for family care. The law prohibits retaliation for taking advantage of the law's benefits or supporting someone who does.
If an employer offers maternity or paternity leave when a baby is born, it must offer the same leave options to parents adopting a child.