Sexual Harassment in Maryland

Sexual Harassment in Maryland: Your Rights Under State and Federal Law

If you work in Maryland, you’re protected from sexual harassment under both federal law (Title VII) and the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act (FEPA). For the general legal doctrine behind sexual harassment claims — quid pro quo versus hostile work environment, the Faragher-Ellerth employer liability framework, and retaliation — see our Sexual Harassment Law overview.

A Genuine Maryland Advantage: Harassment Claims Reach Smaller Employers

This is an important exception worth knowing about. While Maryland’s general discrimination protections under FEPA apply only to employers with 15 or more employees, Maryland’s harassment protections specifically extend to employers with as few as 1 employee. If you work for a very small Maryland employer, you may not have a standard discrimination claim under FEPA — but you may still have a harassment claim.

Maryland's Totality-of-the-Circumstances Standard

Maryland harassment claims are generally evaluated under a totality-of-the-circumstances approach, consistent with the federal hostile work environment standard from Harris v. Forklift Systems. Courts consider whether the conduct is sufficiently severe or pervasive, viewed in context, to alter the conditions of employment and create an abusive or hostile working environment — without requiring that the conduct be “severe” in isolation, so long as the pattern as a whole is abusive. DC adopted this same general approach in 2022, following Maryland’s lead.

A Wrinkle for Harassment Based on Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity

This is worth knowing if your harassment is based on your sexual orientation or gender identity specifically. Federal law is clear on this point — the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County held that Title VII’s ban on sex discrimination covers sexual orientation and gender identity, and courts have extended that reasoning to harassment claims as well. But in 2023, Maryland’s own Supreme Court reached the opposite conclusion about what “sex” means specifically under Maryland’s state-law definition, in Doe v. Catholic Relief Services. This doesn’t leave Maryland workers unprotected — Maryland separately and explicitly protects sexual orientation and gender identity as their own named categories, independent of how “sex” is defined — but it does mean the specific legal theory behind your claim matters. See our Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Discrimination page for a full explanation of how this plays out in Maryland.

How Long Do You Have to File a Claim in Maryland?

Administrative complaint with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights (MCCR): generally 300 days from the discriminatory act.
Harassment claims specifically: 2 years to file with MCCR, measured from the last incident of harassment — longer than the general 300-day deadline that applies to other discrimination claims.
Maryland generally requires exhausting the administrative process with MCCR before filing a civil lawsuit under FEPA — unlike DC, which allows filing directly in court.

What Compensation Can You Recover?

Workers who successfully bring a sexual harassment claim in Maryland may be entitled to:

Back pay and front pay
Reinstatement or a comparable position
Compensatory damages, including for emotional distress
Punitive damages, where the employer acted with actual malice or ill intent
Attorney’s fees and costs

Note on damages: Maryland’s compensatory and punitive damages under FEPA are generally capped at levels mirroring Title VII — ranging from $50,000 to $300,000 depending on employer size — narrower than the DCHRA’s uncapped damages available to DC workers.

Talk to a Maryland Sexual Harassment Attorney

Maryland’s broader employer coverage for harassment claims specifically, and its longer 2-year filing deadline, are both worth understanding — especially if you work for a small employer or aren’t sure how much time you have left to act.

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: August 28, 2026.