Employment Law Update: Maryland Worker Freedom Act Now in Effect; Required Notice Form Yet to Be Issued
Among the new Maryland statutes that took effect on October 1st is the Maryland Worker Freedom Act. The new law prohibits employers from taking action against employees who refuse to attend or participate in workplace meetings where the employer shares opinions on religious or political matters.
The statute does not prohibit a private employer’s ability to hold such meetings where those topics are discussed, but the law does restrict employers from discharging, disciplining, or otherwise penalizing employees who decline to attend or participate in those events. As defined in the statute, “religious matters” include issues relating to religious beliefs, affiliations, and practices, as well as the decision to join or support a religious organization. The term “political matters” is defined to include issues relating to elections, political parties, legislation and policy proposals, and the decision to join or support a political party or civic, community, or labor organization. This last reference, to discussions of issues relating to support for a labor organization, obviously carries potential legal implications on an employer’s ability to require employees to attend pre-election meetings in the context of a union organizing campaign.
The Act excludes certain categories of employers from its scope, including religious and political organizations that would inherently address such matters with employees in the course of their operations. The Act also contains exemptions for certain types of communications made by employers that include political or religious content, such as information that the employer is required by law to communicate or which is necessary for employees’ performance of their job duties.
Of particular note for employers, the Act includes a requirement that employers give notice of the statute’s provisions to their employees by both posting a notice in the workplace and giving a copy of the notice to new employees upon hiring. Although the Act took effect on October 1st, its notice provisions set a deadline of November 1st for Maryland’s Commissioner of Labor and Industry to issue the model notice that employers will use to comply with the notice requirements. Employers should plan to include the notice with their workplace postings once it has been published, and should likewise include the notice form in their onboarding documents for employees working in Maryland.
Employers with questions about the Maryland Worker Freedom Act, including its notice and posting requirements, are encouraged to contact a member of Whiteford’s Labor & Employment team. Our attorneys can help you assess how the new law affects your workplace meetings and update your postings and onboarding materials accordingly.
The information contained here is not intended to provide legal advice or opinion and should not be acted upon without consulting an attorney. Counsel should not be selected based on advertising materials, and we recommend that you conduct further investigation when seeking legal representation.