Maryland Wrongful Termination Laws

Have you recently lost your job? If so, you might be wondering whether you have grounds for a wrongful termination lawsuit. In Maryland, as in other states, employees work at will. This means an employee can generally be fired at any time and for any reason, or for no reason at all.

But there are some exceptions to the at-will rule. If your Maryland employer fires you for discriminatory reasons, in violation of an employment contract, or in retaliation for exercising your rights, for example, you may have a legal claim against your employer for wrongful termination.

What If You Were Illegally Fired During the Coronavirus Pandemic?

Obviously, the economic downturn stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in huge numbers of layoffs. But what if you were fired during the pandemic? Depending on the reason behind your dismissal, you might have a valid claim for wrongful termination. For instance, it would generally be illegal for your employer to fire you:

• in retaliation after you complained about or reported unsafe working conditions, such as inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE), social distancing, or cleaning
• for refusing to work because you had a reasonable belief that you faced an immediate risk of death or serous physical harm due to unsafe working conditions
• for refusing to violate a legal shelter-in-place order
• for taking family or medical leave under state or federal law, including the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) (discussed below)
• because you have a preexisting condition (including your age) that makes you more vulnerable to the coronavirus; or
• because you filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits for COVID-19.

(Learn more about wrongful termination in the context of COVID-19.)

Every state's laws on wrongful termination are different. This article covers some of the common legal grounds you might have for suing your employer in Maryland for wrongful termination. But it's not a comprehensive list of Maryland employment rights, which can change as courts issue new rulings and legislators pass or modify laws. To find out the full extent of your claims, speak to an experienced Maryland employment lawyer.

Discriminatory Firing

Under federal law, it is illegal for an employer to fire an employee based on a protected characteristic. Federal law prohibits employers from firing employees based on race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, religion, age (if the employee is at least 40), disability, citizenship status, or genetic information. However, only employers with a minimum number of employees must comply with these laws. Most types of discrimination are prohibited once an employer has at least 15 employees. However, the minimum is 20 employees for age discrimination and four employees for discrimination based on citizenship status.

Maryland law prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, religion, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Employers with at least 15 employees must comply with the state's discrimination law.

These laws also make it illegal for an employer to retaliate against you for asserting your rights. For example, if you complain to your company's HR department that you believe you were passed over for promotion because of your age, your employer may not discipline or fire you for your complaint. Likewise, your employer cannot fire you for participating in an investigation of a discrimination complaint (no matter who made the complaint), testifying in court, or making other efforts to stop discriminatory practices.

Before filing a discrimination or retaliation lawsuit, you must file a complaint with the appropriate government agency. In Maryland, the Maryland Commission on Human Relations enforces the state's laws prohibiting discrimination; the Commission has offices in Baltimore, Hagerstown, Leonardtown, and Salisbury. In many cases, state fair employment practices agencies will record your complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency that enforces federal antidiscrimination laws. However, you should check to make sure. If not, you may also have to file a complaint with the EEOC; you can find contact information for the nearest office at the EEOC's Field Offices page.

Breach of Employment Contract

If you have an employment contract promising you job security, you may not be an at-will employee. In Maryland, an employment contract may be written, oral, or implied. In the first two types of contracts, your employer makes oral or written promises not to fire you for a certain period of time without good cause. In an implied contract, your employer acts in a way that creates a reasonable expectation that you would continue to be employed. For example, statements in your employee handbook that indicate that employees will not be fired without good cause may create an implied contract. If you have an employment contract, and your employer fires you without good cause, you have a legal claim for breach of contract.

Maryland Wage and Hour Issues

In Maryland, employees are entitled to a minimum wage of $11 per hour in 2020. Employees are also entitled to overtime pay (time and a half) after working 40 hours in a workweek. Although some states require employers to provide meal or rest breaks, Maryland is not one of them. Under federal law, though, employers who choose to offer breaks must generally pay for breaks of 20 minutes or less. It is illegal for an employer to fire or otherwise retaliate against an employee for filing a wage claim, testifying in a wage proceeding, or exercising any other rights under the wage and hour laws.

Time Off Work in Maryland

State and federal laws give employees the right to take time off work for certain civic obligations and personal responsibilities. Employers may not discipline or fire workers for exercising these rights. In Maryland, these rights include:

• Military leave. Under federal law, employees have the right to take up to five years of leave to serve in the military, with the right to be reinstated when they return to work. (This law also prohibits discrimination against employees based on their military service, protects employees from discharge without good cause for up to one year after they return from military duty, and provides other protections; see Nolo's article Taking Military Leave for more information.) Maryland law extends these rights to members of the state National Guard or Maryland Defense Force who are called to military duty. Maryland also requires certain employers to allow employees to take up to 15 days off each year to respond to an emergency mission of the Maryland Wing of the Civil Air Patrol. To learn more, see Nolo's article Maryland Laws on Military Leave.
• Jury duty. Employees are entitled to take unpaid leave for jury duty, and employers may not threaten or coerce employees or require them to use annual, personal, or sick leave for these purposes. An employee who spends at least four hours on jury duty may not be required to work a shift that begins on or after 5 p.m. that day and before 3 a.m. the following day. Employers who fire or penalize an employee for jury service are subject to criminal fines.
• Voting. Employers must give employees up to two hours of paid leave to vote, unless the employee has two consecutive hours off work while the polls are open.
• Family and medical leave. Maryland employees are protected by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The FMLA requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide eligible employees with up to 12 weeks off, unpaid, every year for the following purposes: to recover from a serious health condition, to care for a family member with a serious health condition, to care for a new child, or to handle certain practical matters arising out of a family member's military service. Employees can take up to 26 weeks off in a single year to care for a family member who is seriously injured while serving in the military. Employees who take FMLA leave must be reinstated to the same position once their leave is over. Under Maryland law, employers with 15 to 49 employees must provide eligible employees with up to six weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child.
• Other protected leave. Employers with 50 or more employees must provide eligible employees with one day of unpaid leave when an immediate family member leaves for or returns from active military duty outside the United States. For more information, see the articles at Nolo's FMLA page.

Other State Employment Claims

• Workers' compensation. Employers may not fire an employee for filing a workers' compensation claim.
• Workplace safety. Employers are prohibited from firing employees who file complaints or testify in proceedings related to violations of workplace safety laws.
• Whistleblowing. Employers cannot fire employees who report illegal activity by their employers to government agencies.

What to Do Next

If you think you were fired illegally, talk to a Maryland employment lawyer. A lawyer can help you sort through the facts and assess the strength of any claims you may have against your former employer. A lawyer can explain your options and help you protect your rights, whether you decide to try to get your job back, negotiate a severance package, or take your former employer to court.