On May 26, 2018, Maryland enacted House Bill 1539 (Senate Bill 853). The new law makes contractors jointly and severally liable for wages payments subcontractors on its jobs have failed to pay their employees. This joint and several liability exists even if there is not a direct contractual relationship betweent the contractor and the subcontract that has failed to pay wages. Other obligations and restrictions apply.
The new law goes into effect on October 1, 2018.
On May 15, 2018, Governor Hogan signed Senate Bill 1010 entitled, “Disclosing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Act.” (House Bill 1596) The new law:
- prohibits waivers of certain rights and remedies to sexual harassment claims in employment contracts
- requires employers with 50 or more employees to submit a report to the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights 1)indicating the number of settlements entered into based on allegations of sexual harassment, 2) the number of times the employer has paid a settlement to resolve a sexual harassment complaint against the same employee over the prior 10 years, and 3) the number of settlements of sexual harassment claims that contained non-disclosure provisions.
The waiver prohibition provision of the new law becomes effective on October 1, 2018.
The first sexual harassment settlements report must be submitted by July 1, 2020, and then another on July 1, 2022.
On May 15, 2018, Governor Hogan signed House Bill 1617 (see also Senate Bill 152). Current law, allows private employers to give preference to veterans when hiring. This new law extends the veteran preference to include include the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service and the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The new law goes into effect on October 1, 2018.