Maryland Updates

WARN Responsibilities Expanding

Effective October 1, 2020, the amended Maryland Economic Stabilization Act mandates that employers with 50 or more employees operating commercial, industrial or business enterprises in Maryland for at least one year must provide 60 days advance written notice to affected employees before implementing a reduction in operations. This goes beyond the federal WARN Act’s threshold.

Under Maryland’s amended mini-WARN law, a reduction in operations is:

• The relocation of a part of an employer’s operation from one workplace to another existing or proposed site; or
• The shutdown of a workplace or portion of a worksite that reduces the number of employees by at least 25% or by at least 15 employees, whichever is greater, over any three month period.

Read other details and requirements here.

Hairstyle Discrimination Amendment

Effective October 1, 2020 the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act’s prohibition against race discrimination will include discrimination on the basis of hairstyles. The term “race” includes traits associated with race, including hair texture, afro hairstyles, and protective hairstyles. The term “protective hairstyle” includes braids, twists, and locks.

Facial Recognition Technology Consent

Effective October 1, 2020, Maryland prohibits using facial recognition technology during the job interview process, absent an applicant’s consent. Employers that intend to use this technology in job interviews should prepare adequate notice and obtain written consent from applicants.

Amendments to the Equal Pay for Equal Work Law

Effective October 1, 2020, amendments to the Maryland Equal Pay for Equal Work law protect job applicants' salary history information. Under the law:

• An employer may not:
• Retaliate against or refuse to interview or hire an applicant because the applicant did not provide their wage history or requested the position's wage range;
• Rely on wage history in screening applicants or in determining wages; or
• Seek an applicant's wage history orally, in writing or through a current or former employer;
• After making an initial offer of employment with an offer of compensation, an employer may rely on, or seek to confirm, the wage history voluntarily provided by the applicant to support a wage offer that is higher than the initial wage offered by the employer; and
• An employer must provide an applicant with the position's wage range, if requested.