Montgomery County, Maryland, Passes Paid Sick Leave Law: Employment Law Manual, Chart Updated

Authors: Melissa Burdorf, Marta Moakley and Melissa Silver, XpertHR Legal Editor

Employees in Montgomery County, Maryland, will be eligible for paid sick and safe leave starting October 1, 2016. The ordinance applies to employers with one or more employees. Most employees who work more than eight hours per week are eligible to earn sick and safe leave. Employees working for employers with five or more employees may accrue up to 56 hours of paid leave per calendar year, while employees working for employers with fewer than five employees may accrue up to 32 hours of paid leave and 24 hours of unpaid leave per year. Employees may use up to 80 hours of leave per year.

Earned sick and safe leave may be taken for the following reasons:

  • An employee's or family member's illness, injury or condition or for preventive care;
  • A public health emergency; or
  • Reasons related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

In light of this development, the Paid Sick Leave by State and Municipality chart and the following Maryland sections of the Employment Law Manual have been updated:

Plus, a Legal Timetable entry has been added.