Maryland's Sick Leave Law Took Effect on February 11 Without Delay

Last week, we notified employers that Maryland's new sick leave law, the Healthy Working Families Act (the "Act"), was set to take effect on February 11, and detailed the Act's requirements in Paid Sick Leave Comes to Maryland on February 11. We have since received inquiries about whether the effective date of the Act has been delayed until July 2018. Contrary to the suggestion of some headlines suggesting otherwise, the Maryland General Assembly has not delayed the Act's effective date—although a vote to delay the Act passed in the Senate last week, today a House committee rejected the bill to extend the effective date of the Act. As a result, February 11 was the effective date of the Act and, consequently, the date that employees began accruing sick leave under the Act.