Two things go wrong with this law, and neither is the part employers worry about.
The first: “we have fewer than fifteen employees, so it doesn't apply to us.” It does. The second: employers who genuinely do provide the leave, and are still out of compliance because of a line missing from their pay stubs.
Here's the whole thing in plain terms.
Who it covers
If your employees' primary work location is Maryland, the Healthy Working Families Act applies to you. The only thing your headcount changes is whether the leave is paid.
Fifteen or more employees — averaged across the previous year — you must provide paid sick and safe leave.
Fourteen or fewer — you must provide unpaid sick and safe leave, with the same tracking and the same notice requirements.
That second line is the one that catches people. Small employers hear “fifteen” and assume they're exempt. They're not; they're exempt from paying. The obligation to grant the leave, track it and report it is identical.
How it accrues
Employees earn one hour of leave for every thirty hours worked.
· Accrual cap: 40 hours per year
· Carryover: up to 40 unused hours into the next year
· Maximum balance: 64 hours total at any point
· New employees: must wait 106 days before using what they've accrued
There's a simpler option. You can front-load the full 40 hours at the start of the year — and if you do, you're allowed to prohibit carryover entirely. For a small employer without a payroll system that tracks accrual well, front-loading trades a little generosity for a lot less administration. It's usually the right call.
The line on the pay stub
This is the one that catches compliant employers.
You must give each employee a statement of used and available leave with every pay period. Not on request, not annually. Every pay period.
If you're granting the leave properly but your pay stubs don't show the balance, you're out of compliance — and you won't find out until someone complains or you're audited. It's a payroll configuration, usually a one-time fix, and it's the single most common gap we see.
The “safe” half
Everyone reads this as a sick leave law. The statute covers more.
Employees may use the leave for their own illness, injury or condition; preventive care for themselves or a family member; care for a family member who's ill or injured; maternity or paternity leave; and absences arising from domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.
That last category is why it's “sick and safe” leave. Most employee handbooks never mention it, which means the people it exists for don't know it's there. Adding one sentence to your handbook costs nothing and is the entire point of the provision.
Notice, both ways
You can require up to seven days' advance notice for foreseeable leave — a scheduled procedure, a planned appointment.
For anything unforeseeable, the standard is as soon as practicable. A policy demanding advance notice for a sudden illness isn't enforceable, and putting one in your handbook creates a problem rather than solving one.
A short checklist
1. Are you tracking accrual at one hour per thirty worked — including for unpaid leave if you're under fifteen?
2. Does your pay stub show used and available leave every period?
3. Does your handbook mention safe leave, not just sick leave?
4. Does your notice policy allow “as soon as practicable” for unforeseeable absences?
5. Have you decided between accruing and front-loading — deliberately, rather than by default?
Most employers we work with pass one through three and have never thought about five.
And one more thing coming
Maryland's Family and Medical Leave Insurance program — FAMLI — is separate from this and arrives later. Payroll contributions begin January 1, 2027 at 0.90% of covered wages, and benefits become available no later than January 3, 2028. Worth putting in the 2027 budget now rather than discovering it in December.
