Flexible Leave: Maryland

This Flexible Leave policy applies to employees in Maryland under the Maryland Flexible Leave Act (Md. Code, Labor and Employment § 3-802) and explains when employees can use accrued paid leave to care for an ill immediate family member or for bereavement after a family member's death.

The History Behind Flexible Leave Policies in Maryland

Flexible Leave in Maryland on its own is a type of Family & Self Care Leave. Alternatively, the law may influence you to simply make some slight modifications to your other leaves for MD employees. The law is meant to prevent employers who offer paid leave from limiting employees to using them for their own illness. If your kid has the flu or your parent needs care, you wouldn't want a bank of paid time off available only to be told "that leave isn't for that." Maryland's Flexible Leave Act was built to close that gap by requiring employers that already provide paid leave to let employees use some of it for certain family-care and bereavement needs.

The law took a practical approach instead of inventing a brand-new leave program. It doesn't force employers to create paid leave or add extra days; it regulates how existing paid leave can be used when an employee needs to care for an immediate family member under the same conditions that would apply to the employee's own illness, or when there's a death in the immediate family. That design informs the goal: Maryland aimed for a "use what you already have" rule that expands real-life flexibility without turning every employer's PTO plan into a state-run benefit.

One detail we'd like to highlight is the employee choice piece. If your organization offers multiple types of paid leave (vacation, sick leave, PTO), employees can pick which one to draw from for flexible leave, which prevents an employer from saying "sure, but only from the one category you never accrue." The definition of "immediate family member" is also intentionally tight and familiar (child, spouse, parent, with common legal variations like step and foster relationships), which keeps the benefit easy to administer while still covering the relationships that most often drive those urgent, can't-wait moments.

Which Law is the Flexible Leave Policy Meant to Comply With?

If you create and distribute a Flexible Leave Policy for your Maryland-based employees, it is in an effort to comply with Maryland's Maryland Code, Labor and Employment, § 3-802.

How to Write a Maryland-Specific Flexible Leave Policy

• Start with "why" and introduce the concept, explain that Maryland flexible leave lets employees use accrued paid leave for certain family care and bereavement needs.
• State that employees may use accrued paid leave to care for an immediate family member who's ill, aligned to the same general rules used for the employee's own illness.
• State that employees may use accrued paid leave for bereavement after the death of an immediate family member.
• Explain that employees with multiple paid leave banks can choose which type of paid leave to use and how much to use.
• Define "immediate family member" for this policy.
• Explain how employees should request flexible leave.

When to Include this Policy in Your Employee Handbook

The law does not require you to publish a policy or issue a specific notice. That said, you still have to comply with the requirements that apply to you as an employer. 

This is a "depends on your workplace" policy. Include it if you offer the benefit, operate in a setting where this comes up, have a state-specific rule that differs from your national approach, or you've had issues in this area before. If you already have a clear all-employee policy that covers the same ground (and it meets Maryland's requirements), you may not need a separate policy here. 

Other Considerations

The law applies to Maryland employers who have at least 15 employees working in the US.

Exceptions

None.