Maryland Employment Law Questions & Answers
Q: Can a employer force a employee to work 12 hr shifts after they were hired for 8 hr shifts? Notice verbal or written?
I will be losing 8 hrs in my paycheck going to 12 hr shifts plus I will be losing my shift differential. We were made aware of this by the unit manager verbally. Shouldn't it be in writing to be legal and come from company CEO? Would greatly appreciate any insight.
Very generally speaking an employer can freely change work hour requirements. An employer must honor overtime laws and child labor laws and in some cases retail break laws but otherwise can set work hours and shifts pretty much as the employer sees fit. There is no law requiring changes to... Read more »
Q: Im a federal supervisor. I manage a staff of 8. One of my employees is harassing me with frivolous emails and demanding
Over the last 2 years I have given this employee a letter of reprimand, a PIP, and a proposal for a seven day suspension. My upper level supervisor failed to sign off on the suspension. My upper level supervisor has promised over the last year that this employee would be moved. After a few month of... Read more »
Just based on what you have presented I can't advise you. It requires meeting to discuss the case, review of paperwork, and research. However, it sounds like you may be open to getting in trouble with upper level management and should hire counsel to protect your rights.
Q: Company losing contract but new company wants me to come work for them. Non solicitation for employees and customers
Restricted period is 1 year and includes prior contracts. Non solicitation references not providing similar services to the business. Can I go work for them? It's almost like being black mailed to only work for my current company.
You'd need an attorney to review the non-solicitation clause in the context of the entire agreement, to see if it is enforceable or applies to your planned new job. Your question sounds like it could possibly implicate a non-compete clause rather than non-solicitation.
Q: I need to sign a contract with an IT staffing Company and I don't understand a clause in it?
You'd need to ask an attorney to tell you what the clause means. It might be a good idea to have the entire contract reviewed also.
Q: Is it ethical for an employer to have 1 person who does Human Resources for the entire office inccluding the hiring,
Firing an the disciplinarian, a supervisor to some and the payroll person? I feel it’s very bias but I am not sure if under (Maryland) state law it’s considered legal or ethical? Also, is it ethical or legal for an employer to tell you they are going to deny the a workers conp claim before you... Read more »
There is nothing illegal about only having one HR staff person. If an employer complies with the laws and regulations applicable to it, that's all that matters. It's just difficult to do without professional help, as the workers comp incident illustrates. Employers can't retaliate against... Read more »
Q: If your told via text that you will get a raise and the area manager says no. Is the text legally binding
No, it's not legally binding unless you "gave something up" of substance in reliance on the promise of the raise (known as "detrimental reliance"). An example of that would be that you were offered another position by another employer, and your current employer then made you an offer of a raise to... Read more »
Q: My employer in Montgomery County md is refusing to put in my accrued sick pay while Im on maternity leave. What can I do
I have already spoken to them once about how they’re messing up my finances at home, and they still won’t put in the paid sick leave forms I’ve given them.
Maryland employers (that have at least 15 employees) are required to offer only unpaid maternity leave, under the Parental Leave Act. However, under the Maryland Flexible Leave Act, those employers must allow employees on unpaid leave to care for a newborn to elect to use their earned/accrued PTO... Read more »
Q: can an employer change & reduce salary to hourly & say it was based on 45 hours per week if the pay stub clearly say 40?
I’ve worked for the same company for 13 years as a salaried employee. I have to sign a contract as part of a title and career path upgrade that reduces my pay and updates a NCD. I’m still doing the same job in the same spot. When I asked they said my salary was based on a 45 hour work week. The... Read more »
As long as the employer gives at least a pay period advance notice to employee of a reduction in pay, they are not violating any laws in MD. However, your question raises the issue of whether you were appropriately classified as exempt in the first place- if your job duties have truly remained the... Read more »
Q: Maryland sick/safe law, can you be forceto use your accrued PTO?
Is it permissible for an employer to only allow you to use your sick and/or safe leave if you have the PTO hours to cover said leave? Thus then charging you PTO hours in addition to your sick and/or safe leave hours? This is a job place where the employees are paid predominantly tips, the the tip... Read more »
As long as the employer's overall PTO policy provides the minimum sick/safe leave, they can require the employee to use earned PTO. However, if the employer does not set aside leave that can only be used for sick/safe purposes, the DLLR guidance states that it "strongly encourages such employers... Read more »
Q: non exempt W2 salaried in Maryland . Company website shows I work 5/40hrs but I work 6 and over 12hrs. Overtime pay?
W2 salaried,I work 6 days and mostly 7 days a week. I supervise cable techs and my day start when they start and end when they end. 12-14hrs a day. They get overtime pay.
My off day, I’m expected to respond to emails and some of my techs work on my off days therefore I supervise them.... Read more »
If you are classified as non-exempt (even if salaried), then an employer needs to pay you for any overtime you actually work- at your "regular rate of pay." It does sound like your supervisory duties might (or might not) allow the employer to classify you as exempt- as long as you make enough... Read more »
Q: A sick leave law was passed in Montgomery County md My employer refuses to comply anything I can do?
Giant Food policy states part time employees will receive 5 hours ph for every four months of service. Policy also states employees will receive vacation annually based on average work.
The Maryland law states employees will receive 1 hour sick leave for every 30 hours worked. The law also... Read more »
Both Montgomery County and Maryland now have sick leave laws, and the employer has to comply with the provisions that provide the most protection to the employee. But depending on the size of the employer, the benefits may be limited. And there are employee tenure (length of employment) and hours... Read more »
Q: W2 employee supervising sub contractor
I supervise a mixture of my company’s employees and several sub contractors.
1, should I be compensated for the sub contractors?
2, some sub contractors are suing my job because of coemployment issues and I’ve been subpoenaed to testify whether or not I did, should I have been... Read more »
The subcontractor's right to be paid/treated as employees is separate from your entitlement to be paid for your work. If you are not being paid for hours or overtime you work (and are non-exempt), then you would probably have a claim. On the other hand, if you are truly salaried exempt (and are... Read more »
Q: Does an employer have to provide a candidate a tentative offer letter of employment before conducting a background
Employer uses a 3rd party company to conduct the background search, why is there a need for the offer letter which is tentative pending the outcome of the background.
The EEOC strongly suggests employers give applicants a conditional (tentative) offer of employment before conducting background checks- for similar reasons that some jurisdictions have "ban-the-box" laws. It is to give people with histories of arrest or conviction a chance to get their foot in the... Read more »
Q: Good evening, I was hired as a delivery driver, but my boss keeps giving me other jobs to do without compensation.
The answer depends on whether you mean "extra" compensation for the other work, or "no" compensation. Generally, as long as the employer is paying you for the time you spend working, they do not need to pay you more for taking on extra tasks.
However, the minimum wage rules allow for the... Read more »
Q: Do employers have to pay for work even if its under an hour?
My friend works at starbucks and she says that if she does not work for an hour exactly she will not get paid. If she works 50 minutes, 40, 30, 15, do they have to bill for the minutes under an hour? Or can a company legally not pay for work that does not exceed an hour?
Employers can round up or down as much as 15 minutes, as long as the overall effect is not to fail to pay employees for time they work. As described, this practice does not appear to fit within permissible rounding- if they are simply not paying for shifts under an hour.
Q: what is the statue of limitations for employment contracts where compensation is owed?
what is the amount you can sue for? Is it 3x the amount owed that is owed?
The Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Law gives you 3 years to sue for unpaid earned wages or overtime. There is the potential (not guaranteed) for punitive damages up to 3 times the unpaid wages. If you truly had an employment contract, that might control whether you have the right to file... Read more »
Q: Can in employer deny your job and say you’re not qualified if in the requirements section it does not state it
I applied to a position and it said I was not qualified based off of not having a high school diploma because I’m still in school.it is not stated in the requirements section of the job description that was sent by the company The district manager and human resources manager told me I would get... Read more »
The job description is not definitive when it comes to the question of who is qualified to do the job. It can be strong evidence of what the employer considers qualified, but it is not a contract. But the larger issue is that the employer is not bound by their promise to promote you when you... Read more »
Q: I was fired by a major retailer for breaking their external shoplifting policy when I did not. Do I have a case?
There was an Incident with a known shoplifter who accused me of having security and the police follow her when in fact I did not. The company found in their investigation that I did not call security or the police but because I spoke with a security guard when she entered the store for an unrelated... Read more »
There are two separate issues here. The first is whether the employer broke the law by terminating you without good cause (or even any cause). Unfortunately, without more facts indicating that you were retaliated or discriminated against, your employer may legally terminate you- even if it isn't... Read more »
Q: Is it legal for your employer to get video surveillance and proof of purchase receipts from another establishment?
My partner was the only person terminated from her job (out of 4)when the company was told employees were seen consuming alcohol on lunch break at a restaurant. An employee of walmart went to the location and confiscated receipts and video prooving the employees were drinking. Despite the other 3... Read more »
There does not appear to be anything wrong or illegal about gathering the surveillance video and receipts. However, if the only employee that was fired was not drinking (the video should back this up)- and the only one fired- this could potentially be a discrimination claim. Your partner should... Read more »
Q: I applied for a promotion with the company and was turned down for the job and someone was hired but was asked to do the
job but was not offered any additional compensation even though I was told I was not qualified. I spoke to the manager regarding possibly discussing compensation for the office management responsibility that I have been doing for the past 9 months and was ultimately accused of something I did not... Read more »
There are too many unknown factors involved here for a comprehensive answer. Generally, an employer can ask you to do additional tasks without an increase in pay. You suggest that there could be discrimination involved, but provide no basis on which to evaluate whether there is any sort of... Read more »
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