Get ready to pay your employees more! On January 1, 2024, minimum wage in Maryland is set to increase to $15.00 per hour for all employers. This is a fairly substantial increase as it is effectively two years of increases at once. The 2023 minimum wage rate for large employers (15 or more employees) is $13.25 per hour and for small employers it is $12.80 per hour.
This is the last of four years of gradual increases that began in 2019. The state’s minimum wage had increased incrementally each year and was scheduled to reach $15.00 per hour on January 1, 2025 for large employers and July 1, 2026 for small employers. However, on April 11, 2023, Gov. Wes Moore signed into law a bill that accelerated the minimum wage increase schedule setting January 1, 2024 as the date minimum wage would increase to $15.00 per hour for all employers.
There are some variances across the state. First, under Maryland law, employees under the age of 18 may be paid at least $12.75 per hour (85% of the state’s minimum wage”). Second, two counties have minimum wage laws that require employers to pay more than the state minimum wage: Montgomery and Howard Counties.
Montgomery County:
Employers of 51 or more employees must pay $16.70 per hour as a minimum wage. Employers of 50 employees or less must pay the state mandated minimum wage.
Howard County:
Howard County has its own law which set $15.00 per hour as the county minimum for large employers as of January 1, 2023. That minimum will increase to $16.00 per hour on January 1, 2025.
Small employers (less than 15) in Howard County, due to the new state law, will need to increase their minimum wage to $15.00 per hour as of January 1st. The County also requires $0.50 wage increases each successive year until minimum wage reaches $16.00 per hour on July 1, 2026.
It is important that your business knows the minimum wage rules and follows them. Maryland has employee favorable wage and hour laws and any violation of the law could expose your business to three times the amount of unpaid wages, attorneys’ fees, and other costs. Business owners are also personally liable for wage claims. If you or your business need advice on minimum wages or wage and hour claims, please contact an attorney at Kollman & Saucier.