Wage and Hour Law in Maryland

Understanding Maryland Wage and Hour Protections for Employees

Maryland’s wage and hour law layers state and local rules on top of the federal baseline described on our federal wage and hour law page. The single most important thing to understand about Maryland specifically is that your minimum wage can depend on where you physically work, not just the statewide rate.

Minimum Wage: It Depends on Your County

Maryland’s statewide minimum wage is $15.00 per hour. But three counties — Montgomery, Howard, and Prince George’s — have each adopted their own local minimum wage ordinances that exceed the state floor, and the applicable rate is determined by where you actually perform your work, not where your employer’s office is located.

Montgomery County has the most layered structure in the state, with rates that vary by employer size and adjust annually each July based on inflation — as of July 2026, $18.00 per hour for large employers (51 or more employees), $16.50 for mid-size employers (11-50 employees), and $15.95 for small employers (10 or fewer employees).
Howard County reached $16.00 per hour for all employers regardless of size as of July 2026, having previously used an employer-size tiered structure similar to Montgomery County’s.
Prince George’s County sits at $15.30 per hour as of January 2026, with future increases tied to inflation.

A common and costly mistake: if you work in Silver Spring, Rockville, Bethesda, or elsewhere in Montgomery County, you’re entitled to the county rate, not the $15.00 statewide figure — and the gap between the two can add up substantially over a year if your employer isn’t paying attention to where you actually work.

Tipped Employees

Maryland allows a tip credit similar to the federal structure: employers may pay tipped employees (generally, those earning more than $30 per month in tips) a direct cash wage as low as $3.63 per hour, provided tips bring the employee’s total compensation up to at least the applicable minimum wage — which means the tip credit calculation changes depending on which county’s minimum wage actually applies to you.

Overtime: Generally Follows the FLSA

Maryland’s overtime rules generally track the federal Fair Labor Standards Act — non-exempt employees are entitled to time-and-a-half for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek, using essentially the same exempt/non-exempt framework described on our Federal Wage and Hour page.

Youth Wages

Maryland permits a reduced wage for employees under 18: 85% of the otherwise applicable minimum wage, which for 2026 works out to $12.75 per hour at the statewide rate (and correspondingly higher in counties with a higher local minimum wage). This reduced rate applies regardless of the employee’s experience or how long they’ve worked for the employer, and continues until the employee turns 18.

Meal and Rest Breaks: A Real Gap Worth Knowing About

This surprises a lot of people: outside of one specific industry, Maryland does not require employers to provide meal or rest breaks to adult employees at all. The one significant exception is the Healthy Retail Employee Act, which applies only to retail employers with at least 50 employees operating for 20 or more weeks a year (and doesn’t apply to a single retail location with 5 or fewer employees, or to administrative and corporate office staff). Where it applies, eligible retail employees are entitled to a 30-minute unpaid meal break for shifts of 6 or more consecutive hours, plus paid rest breaks scaled to shift length — generally one 15-minute paid break for shifts of 4 to 6 hours, and two 15-minute paid breaks for 8-hour shifts.

Separately, minors under 18 are generally entitled to a 30-minute break when working a shift of 5 or more hours, regardless of industry. But outside of retail (for adults) and this youth protection, Maryland employers are generally under no legal obligation to provide breaks at all — though many choose to as a matter of policy.

Accrued Sick and Safe Leave

The Maryland Healthy Working Families Act, in effect since February 2018, requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide paid sick and safe leave; employers with 14 or fewer employees must provide the same leave, but unpaid. To be eligible, you generally need to work at least 12 hours per week for your employer.

Leave accrues at a rate of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked, capped at 40 hours earned per year and 64 hours accrued at any given time. This leave can be used for your own or a family member’s illness, to obtain preventive care, or for needs related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Unused leave generally carries over up to 40 hours into the next year (unless your employer instead “front-loads” the full amount at the start of the year), though it doesn’t need to be paid out if you leave your job — with one notable protection: if you’re rehired within 37 weeks, your previously accrued leave must generally be reinstated.

Maryland law also protects employees in certain circumstances from retaliation for asserting workplace rights. If you were fired after raising concerns about unpaid wages or other workplace violations, you may also have a wrongful termination claim. Learn more about how a wrongful termination lawyer in Maryland can evaluate your situation.

Talk to a Maryland Wage and Hour Attorney

Whether you’re not sure which county’s minimum wage actually applies to you, believe you’ve been denied sick leave you’re entitled to, or have other wage-related concerns, Wilkenfeld Law Office can help you understand your rights under Maryland law.

Or call 301.245.3035 · Intake@WilkenfeldLO.com

This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Reviewed by Ari Wilkenfeld, Esq. (DC Bar No. 461063; MD Bar No. 9806240300). Ari has over 27 years of experience litigating in federal and state courts, and before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), and various arbitration panels. Ari has been recognized by Esquire Magazine as “a famously determined Civil Rights lawyer” and by the New York Post as “a high powered DC Lawyer.” Last updated: November 1, 2026.