Employment Standards – Firefighters – Payment of Wages and Payroll Information
Summary
HB205 changes Maryland wage-and-hour rules for firefighters employed by governmental units. It requires overtime for those firefighters to be calculated on the basis of hours worked over 168 hours in a 28-day work period, while specifying how regularly scheduled hours and certain leave time are counted. The bill also preserves existing flexibility for some governmental units that already pay overtime using an average of no more than 42 hours per week over a 7- to 28-day work period, or that are party to a collective bargaining agreement defining a shift as 42 hours per week.
The bill also adds new payroll notice requirements for counties and municipalities that employ firefighters. At hiring and whenever pay changes, the employer must provide notice of the firefighter’s pay rate, regular pay periods, and overtime rate. For each pay period, the employer must provide a statement showing hours worked, gross earnings, and deductions. If the employer fails to provide the required payroll information or wages due, the firefighter or the firefighter’s exclusive representative may pursue a grievance under an applicable grievance procedure or collective bargaining agreement.
Impact
HB205 amends Labor and Employment § 3-420 to create a firefighter-specific overtime rule for governmental employers and adds Local Government § 1-207 to impose payroll disclosure duties on counties and municipalities. It also authorizes grievance remedies, including escalating damages, when payroll information or wages are withheld, while limiting application to future collective bargaining agreements and preserving existing agreements in effect before the effective date. The act takes effect October 1, 2025, and affects governmental employers, firefighters, and their exclusive representatives.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad support. It received a favorable committee report and passed the House on third reading by a wide margin, 133-1. The available record suggests the measure was generally viewed as a worker-protection and payroll-transparency bill for firefighters, with little visible opposition in the voting history provided.
Contention
The main policy issues are the overtime calculation method, the treatment of regularly scheduled hours and leave, and the new damages/grievance remedy for failures to provide payroll information or wages. Potential points of contention include the administrative and fiscal burden on counties and municipalities, the interaction with existing collective bargaining agreements, and whether the bill’s prospective-only language sufficiently protects current labor contracts. The bill’s carve-outs for certain overtime practices and existing agreements suggest an effort to balance firefighter wage protections with local government and labor-management concerns.