Family Military Leave Will Soon Be Mandatory in Maryland
Author: Melissa Burdorf, Brightmine Legal Editor
Under a new law taking effect October 1, 2013, Maryland employers with 50 or more employees will need to provide each eligible employee with a one-day leave of absence on the day that employee's immediate family member is leaving for or returning from active military duty outside of the US as a member of the US armed forces.
- Employees are eligible for this leave if they have worked for a covered employer on a full-time or part-time basis for at least 1,250 hours for the last 12 months.
- An employee's immediate family members include his or her spouse (including same-sex spouses), parent, stepparent, child, stepchild or sibling. The immediate family member must be leaving for or returning from active duty outside of the US as a member of the US armed forces. +2013 Bill Text MD S.B. 12.
While employers are not required to pay employees for the day of leave, they are also not permitted to require employees to use their paid leave (e.g., sick, vacation or other paid time off benefits). Employers may run an employee's one-day leave at the same time as qualifying exigency leave (by way of the catch-all category additional activities) under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
Employers may require that employees provide evidence to verify the leave is being taken appropriately (e.g., the immediate family member's military order).
Prior to October 1, Maryland employers should:
- Educate all employees on the new law;
- Review and update employee handbooks, employment policies (particularly leave and benefit policies) and procedures to comply with this new law;
- Train managers and HR on how to manage this leave, including any changes in policies or procedures; and
- Implement systems to track concurrent leaves - such as tracking the FMLA and Maryland law.