Maryland: Paid Sick Leave Requirements

Requirements one by one

Apply the paid/unpaid threshold before calculating leave

Section 3-1304 uses the employer's average monthly headcount during the
immediately preceding year. Every employee counts toward that average,
including full-time, part-time, temporary, seasonal, and employees who are not
themselves eligible for leave. At an average of 15 or more, covered employees
receive paid leave at their normal wage; at 14 or fewer, covered employees must
still receive earned sick and safe leave, but it may be unpaid.

Coverage then turns on the employee-specific exclusions in § 3-1301 and §
3-1303. For example, an employee who regularly works fewer than 12 hours a week
is excluded. A construction collective-bargaining waiver must be express, clear,
and unambiguous; the statute also carves specified building-service jobs out of
that construction category.

Keep the four hour limits separate

The ordinary accrual rate is one hour per 30 worked. At that rate, reaching the
40-hour annual earning limit requires 1,200 hours worked. The employer may
separately limit use to 64 hours in a year, the total bank to 64 hours, and
carryover to 40 hours. Carryover can therefore make more than the current year's
40 newly earned hours available, but it does not expand the 64-hour use or bank
limits.

An employer may instead award at the beginning of the year the full amount the
employee would earn. A full annual award removes the statutory carryover duty.
An equivalent PTO policy substitutes only if it provides at least equivalent
access and accrual and covers the statutory uses.

Treat notice, proof, and increments as different rules

For a foreseeable absence, an employer may require reasonable advance notice
of no more than seven days. For an unforeseeable absence, notice is due as soon
as practicable, with the employer's ordinary procedures applying only when they
do not interfere with use. The employer cannot make the employee find a
replacement.

Verification ordinarily begins only after more than two consecutive scheduled
shifts. A separate rule covers leave used during calendar days 107 through 120,
but only if employer and employee mutually agreed at hiring to the verification
terms. The employer's minimum increment follows its payroll system and may not
exceed four hours.

Give the balance and preserve the enforcement record

With each wage payment, the employer must provide the available balance in
writing by a reasonable method; an online balance system qualifies. Accrued and
used leave records must be kept for at least three years. Inaccurate records or
refusal to permit inspection creates a rebuttable presumption of a violation.

The employer must notify employees of accrual, uses, protections, and complaint
rights. Section 3-1308 starts with a written complaint to the Commissioner. A
private enforcement action described there is an action to enforce an agency
order after the employer has failed to comply for 30 days, not an unrestricted
first-step lawsuit.

What trips people up

A small employer is not exempt from leave. Fourteen or fewer employees
changes paid leave to unpaid leave; it does not erase the earned sick-and-safe-
leave duty for otherwise covered employees.

Ineligible employees still count toward the 15-employee line. The threshold
calculation includes every full-time, part-time, temporary, seasonal, and
otherwise-ineligible employee.

The first 106 days and days 107-120 are different gates. Use may be blocked
during the first 106 calendar days. From day 107 through day 120, verification
may be required under the special hire-time agreement rule.

Local preemption turns on the enactment date. The Act preempts a local
employer sick-and-safe-leave law enacted on or after January 1, 2017, but lets a
local jurisdiction amend a qualifying law enacted before that date.

Separation payout and rehire restoration are different. Unused statutory
leave need not be paid when employment ends. If the employee returns within 37
weeks, however, unused leave must be restored unless the employer voluntarily
paid it out.

Common questions

Does an employer with fewer than 15 employees provide no sick leave?

No. A covered employee still earns sick and safe leave, but the statute permits
it to be unpaid when the employer averages 14 or fewer employees.

Can an employer cap leave at 40 hours in every respect?

No. Forty hours is the annual earning limit and ordinary carryover ceiling. The
statute separately permits up to 64 hours of use in a year and a 64-hour total
bank.

Can an employer require a doctor's note for one missed shift?

Not under the ordinary verification trigger in this subtitle. Verification may
generally be required after more than two consecutive scheduled shifts. A
separate, mutually agreed hire-time rule can apply during employment days 107
through 120.

Can an employee sue immediately for a violation?

Section 3-1308 begins with a written complaint to the Commissioner. Its employee
civil action is to enforce an order that the employer has not obeyed within 30
days; the action must be brought within three years after the order.

Statutes and sources

• Md. Code, Labor and Employment § 3-1301, § 3-1302, § 3-1303, § 3-1304, § 3-1305,
  § 3-1306, § 3-1307, § 3-1308, and § 3-1309. The Maryland Healthy
  Working Families Act's definitions, coverage, accrual, caps, uses, notice,
  records, retaliation, and remedies. Maryland General
  Assembly
  (accessed July 22, 2026).
• Maryland Department of Labor, Healthy Working Families Act resources. The
  official implementation page, employee notice, FAQ, and model policies.
  Maryland Department of Labor
  (accessed July 22, 2026).