Author: Steven A. Brown

Currently working its way through the Maryland General Assembly is an emergency bill that is aimed at delaying the implementation of the new sick and safe leave law (the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act) until July 1, 2018. On Friday the bill passed through a Senate committee, but now it must still go before the full Senate, then to the House of Delegates, and finally, to the Governor’s desk. The current implementation date is February 11, 2018.

It is our position that employers need to prepare as if the sick and safe leave law will go into effect on February 11. Though the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation has been charged with developing guidance documents, including a model policy, it is unlikely that these documents will be finalized prior to February 11. Employers need to review their leave policies now to see what steps need to be taken in order to come into compliance with this new law.

Council Baradel’s Employment Law attorneys, Susan Stobbart Shapiro and Steven A. Brown, are available to review your current leave policies for compliance and address any questions you may have regarding this new law.

Ms. Shapiro and Mr. Brown will also be presenting to the Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce and answering questions on the MHWFA on February 14, 2018. For more information on the presentation and attendance, click here.

When you’re sick, trying to weigh the pros and cons of whether to go to work is something business owners and employees know all too well.  While burying yourself in a pile of blankets on your couch while watching the Price is Right, and reminding Drew Carry that he will never be Bob Barker, may sound like a great way to kick a cold, many business owners and employees simply can’t afford to take the time off.  To address this issue, at least on behalf of employees, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation that would require employers to provide paid or unpaid sick leave to their employees.  However, much like Drew Carry on the Price is Right, the legislation may be dead on arrival as Governor Larry Hogan has already indicated he would use his veto power.  Despite the Governor’s veto, there is a strong possibility his veto will be overridden given the votes that passed the legislation through both chambers of the General Assembly.  As such business owners should know what’s potentially coming. Continue reading Maryland Sick Leave Legislation – Votes Verse Veto on Maryland Employers’ Sick Leave Obligations

On November 22, 2016, a Federal Judge for the Eastern District of Texas entered a nationwide preliminary injunction that stops the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Final Rule from going into effect December 1st, 2016.[1]  The Final Rule was announced back in May of this year and had been intended to drastically increase the salary requirement for the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions from the overtime requirement of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  While still only a preliminary injunction, meaning that the case isn’t over yet, this is a massive blow to the Department of Labor.  More details on how this surprising turn of events came about, and what it means for Maryland businesses will follow in a later post.

[1]  Opinion found here: http://www.theemployerhandbook.com/files/2016/11/Nevada-v.-USDOL.pdf?utm_content=buffer824fc&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer.

 

I’m in a restaurant and my kid secretly declares war on the floor below the highchair.  While I’m trying to contain the damage, my wife’s iced tea finds it way within the arm-reach danger zone.  Containment breached.  For a brief moment the table and floor are a raging river of macaroni, French fries, and iced tea.  In the aftermath I catch the wide eyes of my waiter as he is walking toward me, and in that moment I am very aware of America’s rich tradition of tipping waiters and waitresses. Continue reading Tipping Off Your Tipped Employees About the FLSA Tip Credit is Just the Tip of the Ice Berg – What You Need to Know About the Tip Credit.

What’s remarkable about records is that it seems as though you never know how much one is worth until you don’t have it.  As a small business owner, this is especially true about the records you’re required to keep for your employees.  In the wage and hour world, both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Maryland Wage and Hour Law (MWHL) require that you maintain information related to how many hours your non-exempt employees work and how much you pay them.[1] Failure to keep the required records can turn into a really bad day for a business owner, specifically if facing a Department of Labor audit or if facing a wage and hour lawsuit. Continue reading An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure – the importance of keeping wage and hour records for your employees.