Last year, Maryland lawmakers passed a Minimum Wage Law that gradually increases the statewide minimum wage rate every year until it reaches $15.00 per hour in 2025. The new Minimum Wage Law comes on the heels of another Maryland multiyear minimum wage rate schedule that ended in 2018, paving the way for a new cycle of minimum wage increases beginning January 1, 2020. The new Maryland Minimum Wage Law also means an update to the mandatory posting for workplaces.
Maryland’s “Fight for Fifteen”
The 2019 minimum wage bill (MD H 166/S 280) was introduced and passed by the General Assembly in record time – just two months – and became law despite the opposition of Maryland’s Governor Larry Hogan who initially vetoed the bill. The General Assembly quickly overrode his veto, making Maryland the seventh state to pass a $15.00 minimum wage law. The peak minimum wage rate is due in large part to the grassroots “Fight for Fifteen” campaign, a nationwide movement advocating higher wages and better working conditions for low-wage workers. California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York, as well as D.C., also have scheduled minimum wage rates that will reach $15.00 per hour by 2025 or earlier.
Maryland’s Minimum Wage Increase is More Gradual than Most
Maryland’s first wage increase under the new law went into effect on January 1, 2020. The law increased the minimum wage rate from $10.10 per hour to $11.00 per hour for all employers. Beginning in 2021, and each year thereafter, the minimum wage increase varies depending on the size of the employer. The scheduled minimum wage rate increases are as follows:
| Effective Date | Employers with 15 or more employees | Employers with 14 or fewer employees |
| January 1, 2020 | $11.00 per hour | $11.00 per hour |
| January 1, 2021 | $11.75 per hour | $11.60 per hour |
| January 1, 2022 | $12.50 per hour | $12.20 per hour |
| January 1, 2023 | $13.25 per hour | $12.80 per hour |
| January 1, 2024 | $14.00 per hour | $13.40 per hour |
| January 1, 2025 | $15.00 per hour | $14.00 per hour |
| January 1, 2026 | $15.00 per hour |
The base minimum wage that must be paid to tipped employees did not increase under the new law. Tipped employees still must be paid at least $3.63 per hour. If the employee’s cash wages together with tips do not equal the statewide minimum wage rate, the employer must make up the difference.
Posting Compliance
The Maryland Department of Labor has released the 2020 Minimum Wage and Overtime Law workplace posting update from which obsolete wage rates were removed and new wage rates added. The posting is dated 12/2019 and it replaces the 7/2019 minimum wage posting. The Maryland Department of Labor requires every employer to post the approved Minimum Wage and Overtime Law posting conspicuously in each place of employment. (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-423)
We can help you get in compliance with the posting update quickly. If you already have a Maryland All-On-One™ Poster or Mobile Poster Pak, simply update your product with a Maryland 2020 Minimum Wage and Overtime Law Peel ‘N Post™ sticker. If you do not have a Maryland All-On-One Poster or Mobile Poster Pak, give us a try! Purchase a new Maryland All-On-One Poster or a new Maryland Mobile Poster Pak and see how easy and economical it is to stay in compliance with future changes to Maryland products using our exclusive Peel ‘N Post stickers.
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