The Maryland Healthy Working Families Act applies to all employers, including state and local governments, in the state of Maryland. However, the law distinguishes between large and small employers. For employers with 14 or fewer employees, leave may be provided on an unpaid basis. For employers with 15 or more employees, sick and safe leave is paid at the employee’s normal pay wage rate, unless the employee is a tipped employee, in which case the leave may be paid at minimum wage. Note that full-time, part-time, and temporary employees are counted when determining the number of employees.
The COVID epidemic has created major issues for employees, who may be getting sick themselves, who may have to take time off to care for children or other family members who get sick, or who may not be able to come to work because they have to take care of children due to school closings and remote learning situations.
These and other COVID-related situations may all be considered valid reasons for taking leave under the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act. Employees may be able to utilize leave under MHWFA for reasons related to COVID-19. The Act specifically allows employees to use their accrued leave for reasons such as:
Family members who are covered under the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act include children, grandchildren, grandparents, parents and in-laws, siblings, and spouses. Note that while the Act covers leave for medical illnesses, injuries, or conditions, it does not cover non-medical related conditions, so it is unlikely to provide leave due to having to care for healthy children during school closings.
In addition to the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act, employees who need to take off work due to COVID-related reasons, may have other benefits available. These may include:
This act expanded the federal Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) to provide up to 12 weeks of leave to certain employees of employers with under 500 employees. It generally provides:
Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees may qualify for an exemption for providing leave, if doing so would jeopardize the viability of the business.
Further guidance can be found on the U.S. Department of Labor’s site regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
Employees covered by the law must be permitted to earn at least 40 hours of leave per year (paid or unpaid, depending on whether the employer is categorized as a large or a small employer). The employee can earn leave in one of two ways:
Another important part of the employer’s obligations under the law is giving notice to employees of their entitlement to leave, the provisions of the law (including its provisions that protect employees from retaliation for using their leave), and the ways in which an employee may make a complaint against an employer. The Commissioner of the Division of Labor and Industry has developed a poster for employees and model provisions for employee handbooks.
If you are a Maryland employer, you should review your current leave policies to see if any changes are needed to comply with the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act. If your leave policy is equivalent to or more generous than that which is required by the law, you will not need to make any changes. But if you do need to modify your policies, your compliance will depend on a variety of factors specific to your business.
For further information about the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act and how it might apply to your business, please contact a Maryland business attorney at Lusk Law, LLC. Call us today at (443) 535-9715.
