Maryland 2025 Regular Session

Maryland Senate Bill SB124 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTING LA W.
4	4	[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
5	5	sb0124
6	6
7	7	SENATE BILL 124
8	8	K3 5lr1584
9	9	SB 1117/24 – FIN (PRE–FILED) CF HB 205
10	10	By: Senator Kramer
11	11	Requested: October 31, 2024
12	12	Introduced and read first time: January 8, 2025
13	13	Assigned to: Finance
14	14
15	15	A BILL ENTITLED
16	16
17	17	AN ACT concerning 1
18	18
19	19	Employment Standards – Firefighters – Payment of Wages and Payroll 2
20	20	Information 3
21	21
22	22	FOR the purpose of requiring governmental units that employ firefighters to compute 4
23	23	overtime pay in a certain manner; requiring counties and municipalities to provide 5
24	24	certain payroll information to each firefighter employed by the county or 6
25	25	municipality; authorizing a firefighter or the firefighter’s exclusive representative to 7
26	26	initiate a certain grievance if a county or municipality does not provide the payroll 8
27	27	information as required or wages due; and generally relating to wages and payroll 9
28	28	information for firefighters. 10
29	29
30	30	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 11
31	31	Article – Labor and Employment 12
32	32	Section 3–420 13
33	33	Annotated Code of Maryland 14
34	34	(2016 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 15
35	35
36	36	BY adding to 16
37	37	Article – Local Government 17
38	38	Section 1–207 18
39	39	Annotated Code of Maryland 19
40	40	(2013 Volume and 2024 Supplement) 20
41	41
42	42	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMB LY OF MARYLAND, 21
43	43	That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 22
44	44
45	45	Article – Labor and Employment 23
46	46
47	47	3–420. 24
48	48	2 SENATE BILL 124
49	49
50	50
51	51	(A) IN THIS SECTION , “EMPLOYER” INCLUDES A GOVERNMEN TAL UNIT 1
52	52	THAT EMPLOYS A FIREF IGHTER. 2
53	53
54	54	[(a)] (B) Except as otherwise provided in this section, an employer shall compute 3
55	55	the wage for overtime under § 3–415 of this subtitle on the basis of each hour over 40 hours 4
56	56	that an employee works during 1 workweek. 5
57	57
58	58	[(b)] (C) Notwithstanding § 3–415(b)(2) of this subtitle, an employer that is not 6
59	59	a nonprofit organization and is a concert promoter, legitimate theater, music festival, music 7
60	60	pavilion, or theatrical show shall pay overtime for a craft or trade employee as required in 8
61	61	subsection [(a)] (B) of this section. 9
62	62
63	63	[(c)] (D) The wage for overtime may be computed on the basis of each hour over 10
64	64	60 hours that an employee works during 1 workweek for an employee who: 11
65	65
66	66	(1) is engaged in agriculture; and 12
67	67
68	68	(2) is exempt from the overtime provisions of the federal Act. 13
69	69
70	70	[(d)] (E) The wage for overtime may be computed on the basis of each hour over 14
71	71	48 hours that an employee works during 1 workweek: 15
72	72
73	73	(1) for an employee of a bowling establishment; and 16
74	74
75	75	(2) for an employee of an institution that: 17
76	76
77	77	(i) is not a hospital; but 18
78	78
79	79	(ii) is engaged primarily in the care of individuals who: 19
80	80
81	81	1. are aged, intellectually disabled, or sick or have a mental 20
82	82	disorder; and 21
83	83
84	84	2. reside at the institution. 22
85	85
86	86	(F) (1) THE WAGE FOR OVERTIME FOR A FIREFIGHTER EM PLOYED BY A 23
87	87	GOVERNMENTAL UNIT SH ALL BE COMPUTED ON T HE BASIS OF EACH HOUR OVER 168 24
88	88	HOURS THAT THE FIREF IGHTER WORKS DURING A 28–DAY WORK PERIOD . 25
89	89
90	90	(2) IN CALCULATING HOURS WORKED UNDER PARAGRA PH (1) OF 26
91	91	THIS SUBSECTION , THE EMPLOYER SHALL I NCLUDE ALL REGULARLY SCHEDULED 27
92	92	HOURS, REGARDLESS OF WHETHE R THE FIREFIGHTER US ED EARNED OR ACCRUED 28
93	93	LEAVE DURING ALL OR PART OF THE REGULARL Y SCHEDULED HOURS . 29
94	94	SENATE BILL 124 3
95	95
96	96
97	97	(3) A GOVERNMENTAL UNIT MA Y NOT BE DETERMINED TO HAVE 1
98	98	VIOLATED THIS SECTIO N IF THE GOVERNMENTA L UNIT PAYS OVERTIME WAGES 2
99	99	USING AN AVERAGE OF : 3
100	100
101	101	(I) NOT MORE THAN 42 HOURS PER WEEK; AND 4
102	102
103	103	(II) A WORK PERIOD OF BET WEEN 7 AND 28 DAYS. 5
104	104
105	105	Article – Local Government 6
106	106
107	107	1–207. 7
108	108
109	109	(A) EACH COUNTY AND MUNIC IPALITY SHALL PROVID E FOR EACH 8
110	110	FIREFIGHTER EMPLOYED BY THE COUNTY OR MUN ICIPALITY: 9
111	111
112	112	(1) AT THE TIME OF HIRIN G AND AT THE TIME OF ANY CHANGE OF THE 10
113	113	FIREFIGHTER’S RATE OF PAY, NOTICE OF: 11
114	114
115	115	(I) THE FIREFIGHTER ’S RATE OF PAY; 12
116	116
117	117	(II) THE REGULAR PAY PERI ODS; AND 13
118	118
119	119	(III) THE FIREFIGHTER ’S OVERTIME RATE OF P AY; AND 14
120	120
121	121	(2) FOR EACH PAY PERIOD , A STATEMENT OF THE H OURS WORKED , 15
122	122	GROSS EARNI NGS, AND ANY DEDUCTIONS F ROM THE GROSS EARNIN GS. 16
123	123
124	124	(B) IF A COUNTY OR MUNICI PALITY DOES NOT PROV IDE PAYROLL 17
125	125	INFORMATION IN ACCOR DANCE WITH SUBSECTIO N (A) OF THIS SECTION OR W AGES 18
126	126	DUE, THE FIREFIGHTER OR T HE FIREFIGHTER ’S EXCLUSIVE REPRESEN TATIVE MAY 19
127	127	INITIATE A GRIEVANCE UNDER THE GRIEVANCE PROCED URE ESTABLISHED UNDE R 20
128	128	ANY APPLICABLE GRIEV ANCE PROCEDURE OR CO LLECTIVE BARGAINING 21
129	129	AGREEMENT . 22
130	130
131	131	(C) (1) SUBJECT TO PARAGRAPHS (2) AND (3) OF THIS SUBSECTION , IF A 23
132	132	GRIEVANCE IS INITIAT ED UNDER SUBSECTION (B) OF THIS SECTION, A FIREFIGHTER 24
133	133	IS ENTITLED TO WAGES AND DAMAGES UNLESS T HE WAGE IS WITHHELD AS A RESULT 25
134	134	OF A BONA FIDE DISPU TE. 26
135	135
136	136	(2) IF THE GRIEVANCE WAS FILED: 27
137	137
138	138	(I) IN THE FIRST 3 BUSINESS DAYS OF A P AY PERIOD, THE 28
139	139	DAMAGES SHALL START IN THE FOLLOWING REG ULAR PAY PERIOD; OR 29 4 SENATE BILL 124
140	140
141	141
142	142
143	143	(II) AFTER THE THIRD BUSI NESS DAY OF A PAY PE RIOD, THE 1
144	144	DAMAGES SHALL START IN THE SECOND REGULA R PAY PERIOD FOLLOWI NG THE PAY 2
145	145	PERIOD IN WHICH THE FIREFIGHTER WAS NOT PAID THE FIREFIGHTER ’S FULL 3
146	146	WAGE. 4
147	147
148	148	(3) THE DAMAGES UNDER PAR AGRAPH (1) OF THIS SUBSECTION : 5
149	149
150	150	(I) MAY NOT BEGIN UNTIL AT LEAST ONE REGULAR PAY PERIOD 6
151	151	HAS ELAPSED SINCE TH E FIREFIGHTER WAS NO T PAID THE FIREFIGHT ER’S FULL 7
152	152	WAGE DUE FOR A PAY P ERIOD; 8
153	153
154	154	(II) SHALL INCREASE PER P AY PERIOD BY 30% OF: 9
155	155
156	156	1. THE WAGE THAT THE COUNTY OR MUNICIPALI TY 10
157	157	FAILED TO PROVIDE TH E INFORMATION FOR AS REQUIRED UNDER SUBSE CTION (A) 11
158	158	OF THIS SECTION; OR 12
159	159
160	160	2. THE WAGE THAT THE CO UNTY OR MUNICIPALITY 13
161	161	FAILED TO PAY; 14
162	162
163	163	(III) SHALL CONTINUE UNTIL THE PAY PERIOD WHEN THE 15
164	164	COUNTY OR MUNICIPALI TY PROVIDES THE MISSING WAGES AND DAMAGES TO THE 16
165	165	FIREFIGHTER; AND 17
166	166
167	167	(IV) MAY NOT EXCEED THREE TIMES THE AMOUNT OF : 18
168	168
169	169	1. THE WAGE DUE FOR A P AY PERIOD FOR WHICH THE 19
170	170	COUNTY OR MUNICIPALI TY FAILED TO PROVIDE THE INFORMATION AS R EQUIRED 20
171	171	UNDER SUBSECTION (A) OF THIS SECTION; OR 21
172	172
173	173	2. THE MISSING WAGES . 22
174	174
175	175	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall be construed to 23
176	176	apply only prospectively and may not be applied or interpreted to have any effect on or 24
177	177	application to any collective bargaining agreements in effect before the effective date of this 25
178	178	Act. 26
179	179
180	180	SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 27
181	181	October 1, 2025. 28
182	182