Maryland General Assembly Considering Bills Aimed At Workplace Sexual Harassment

Maryland’s House and Senate have passed competing versions of legislation that would ban employment agreement that limit rights to sue for future claims of sexual harassment. Senate Bill 1010 -- the "Disclosing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Act of 2018" -- would make void any provision in an employment contract, policy, or agreement that waives any substantive or procedural right or remedy to a future claim of sexual harassment or...
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Maryland Healthy Working Families Act: FAQ For Employers

Earlier this year, our firm wrote about Maryland's Healthy Working Families Act, set to take effect February 11, 2018.  We have spent a good part of this past week  advising clients  working to quickly review and revise leave policies to bring them into compliance with the Act.  Here you will find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions surrounding the new sick leave requirements. Do I Have to Offer Paid Sick Leave? Employers...
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Register Now For Our Complimentary Webinar On Maryland's New Paid Sick Leave Law

As you likely have heard, mandatory (paid) sick and safe leave is now a reality in Maryland.  The "Healthy Working Families Act" ("MHWFA"), which is set to become effective February 11, 2018, creates a number of new obligations for Maryland employers. On Friday, February 2, 2018, Kollman & Saucier, P.A., will conduct a free 75-minute webinar on the MHWFA from 11:45 am to 1:00 p.m. EST.   Garrett Wozniak and Eric Paltell will explain the...
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Maryland’s Healthy Working Families Act To Become Law February 11th

On January 12, 2018, the Maryland General Assembly voted to override Governor Larry Hogan’s veto of the Healthy Working Families Act (House Bill 1 in 2017’s General Assembly).  As a result of the legislature’s action, the Healthy Working Families Act (the “Act”) will go into effect on February 11, 2018.  In preparation, Maryland employers should begin reviewing and, if necessary, updating (or creating) their paid leave policies in order...
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Maryland’s Medical Cannabis Law: Does It Impact Your Workplace Drug Testing Policy?

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
12/13/2017
Google “medical marijuana”, and you’ll likely find new headlines, stories, and issues just about each day.  This is so after at least 29 states and the District of Columbia have legalized the drug for medicinal use.  Of course, the possession and consumption of marijuana for any reason remains in violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act.  The ensuing legal landscape makes it difficult for individuals and businesses to...
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Governor Hogan Offers "The Paid Leave Compromise Act of 2018" - Now What?

Six months ago, we reported that the alleged veto-proof Healthy Working Families Act (HWFA) was vetoed by Governor Hogan.  At that time, Governor Hogan called the bill "deeply flawed" and "job-killing."  He then created a task force to study paid sick leave plans and submit a report so that his administration could submit emergency legislation to replace the killed bill when the General Assembly reconvenes in January 2018.  We now have that...
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Montgomery County Will Increase Minimum Wage To $15 Per Hour

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
11/13/2017
The Montgomery County Council voted last week to increase its minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2021 for employers with more than 50 employees.  Under Bill 28-17, beginning July 1, 2022, and each July 1 thereafter, the County minimum wage rate will be increased by the annual average increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the previous calendar year in the Washington-Baltimore area.  The...
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Maryland’s Minimum Wage $9.25/hour as of July 1, 2017; and a DOL Update

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
07/03/2017
Here’s a brief update on things Wage and Hour: Maryland Minimum Wage Rates Continuing the step increase in Maryland’s minimum wage passed by the General Assembly a few years ago, on July 1, the state minimum wage increased to $9.25/hour.   The final planned increase to $10.10/hour will occur on July 1, 2018.. July 1 also saw an increase in the minimum wage required to be paid in Montgomery County to $11.50/hour.   Prince George’s County...
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Maryland Sick Leave Bill Has Died, For Now

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
06/02/2017
We reported two months ago here that Maryland's General Assembly had passed veto-proof sick leave legislation, the Healthy Working Families Act, which would have guaranteed sick leave to most employees working in Maryland. Governor Hogan, however, vetoed that bill calling the bill "deeply flawed" and "job-killing."  That done, Governor Hogan made clear he favors a viable compromise with the General Assembly before January 2018, when the legislation...
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Not So Happy 420 Day: Court Upholds Dismissal of Pot-Selling Bartender

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
04/20/2017
On this 4/20, what could be more topical than a discussion of medical marijuana in the workplace?  As readers of this blog may recall, the subject has previously garnered our attention, given that it raises many sticky issues such as federalism, the business judgment rule, disability law, and the balance between employee privacy interests and employers’ interests in maintaining safe and healthy workplaces. The Current Legal Regime Governing...
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