Maryland Healthy Working Families Act
This bill would require employers that employ 15 or more employees to provide those employees with earned “sick and safe leave” that is paid at the same wage rate as the employee normally earns. It also requires employers with 14 or fewer employees to provide unpaid earned sick and safe leave.
Current status: The bill has passed both the house and senate. The governor has stated that he will veto. However, the veto may be overridden. If passed, it will be effective January 1, 2018.
Job Announcement and Salary History Information Disclosures
This bill requires an employer with at least 15 employees to include specified compensation information, including a minimum rate of pay, in a job advertisement to recruit an employee or independent contractor. An employer may not pay less than the advertised minimum rate of pay. An employer may not screen an applicant for employment based on the applicant’s salary history and may not seek salary history information for an employee or provide the salary history of a current or former employee to a prospective employer except in specified cases.
The bill has passed the house and is now in the Maryland Senate.
A similar law was passed in Massachusetts last year and goes into effect there on January 1, 2018.