Maryland’s Minimum Wage will Rise after General Assembly Veto

The minimum wage is rising in Maryland.

On March 28, the Maryland General Assembly overrode Governor Larry Hogan’s veto of legislation that increases the Maryland minimum wage. The minimum wage in Maryland will increase to $15 per hour by 2025 for employers with 15 or more employees and 2026 for employers with 14 or fewer employees.

The first increase occurs on January 1, 2020, when the minimum wage will become $11 per hour for all employers. It will gradually rise from there.

The minimum wage for employers with 15 or more employees will rise as follows:

  • January 1, 2020 – $11.00 per hour
  • January 1, 2021 – $11.75 per hour
  • January 1, 2022 – $12.50 per hour
  • January 1, 2023 – $13.25 per hour
  • January 1, 2024 – $14.00 per hour
  • January 1, 2025 – $15.00 per hour

The minimum wage for employers with 14 or fewer employees will rise as follows:

  • January 1, 2020 – $11.00 per hour
  • January 1, 2021 – $11.60 per hour
  • January 1, 2022 – $12.20 per hour
  • January 1, 2023 – $12.80 per hour
  • January 1, 2024 – $13.40 per hour
  • January 1, 2025 – $14.00 per hour
  • January 1, 2026 – $14.60 per hour
  • July 1, 2026 – $15.00 per hour

The minimum wage increase can be temporarily suspended one time by the Board of Public Works if it determines that the seasonally adjusted total employment rate is negative. In the event of suspension of the increase, the next raise in the minimum wage will occur one year later than what the new statute requires.

In the legislation, the “training wage” is changing as well. Employees under the age of 18 may be paid 85% of the minimum wage. Before the law passed, the age cutoff for this reduced wage was 20.

According to the law, the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation must release regulations requiring restaurants using a tip credit to provide tipped employees with a wage statement each payday showing the amount of cash wages and tips that make up the tip rate paid each pay period.

It is important to keep in mind that the minimum wage in Prince George’s County and Montgomery County is already higher than the current state minimum wage.

Michael Neary is an employment attorney who works with businesses to prevent and defend against employee claims. For more information, contact him at 301-657-0740 or [email protected].