New amendments to Maryland’s Equal Pay For Equal Work Law went into effect on October 1, 2020. Among other things, the law prohibits employers from paying employees of a certain sex or gender identity less than other employees because of their sex or gender identity.
Maryland’s Equal Pay for Equal Work also prohibits employers from providing less-favorable employment opportunities to employees because of their sex or gender identity. Under the law, employer means any person engaged in a business or profession in Maryland.
The new amendments add additional protections for employees in Maryland. One stipulates that employers are now required to provide a wage range to job applicants, when requested. Also, employers are now prohibited from retaliating against job applicants, including refusing to interview or hire them, because applicants refused to provide their own wage history or requested the wage range for the posted job. Employers are also prohibited from requesting or relying on job applicants' wage history when considering applicants for a position or calculating their wages.
The new amendments also strengthen the anti-retaliation protections under the law. Now, employers cannot retaliate against employees by taking an adverse employment action for inquiring about their own wages or the wages of other employees. Previously, the law only prohibited retaliation if an employee asked about another employee’s wages but not their own. Adverse employment actions include, but are not necessarily limited to, termination, demotion and suspension.
If you think you are being paid differently because of your sex or gender identity, the lawyers at Lebau & Neuworth may be able to help. For more information, contact us at (410) 296-3030 or lebauneuworth.com/contact-us.
