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A Guide to Maryland Severance Agreements
When an employee leaves a place of employment, the employer may have the employee sign a severance agreement outlining the terms of their termination, including any severance pay and other compensation. In return, an employee will also agree to certain provisions, such as not to compete under certain geographic and time circumstances. An experienced Howard County, MD employment attorney can advise employees and employers on Maryland severance agreement best practices.
Why are Severance Agreements Important?
A severance agreement can provide an employer and an employee with certainty about their future dealings for a long period of time. It can also avoid disputes by outlining the terms of the parties’ agreement about the employee’s termination. By offering severance agreements, employers can also protect their company’s proprietary information as well as their reputation. Some common severance agreement components include:
Maryland Bans Non-Competes for Some Healthcare Professionals
Following a trend across the nation, Maryland’s HB 1388 restricts non-compete agreements for some medical professionals. Certain veterinarians and vet technicians are exempt from non-compete and conflict of interest provisions in employment contracts as of June 1, 2024. As of July 1, 2025, some healthcare professionals who provide "direct patient care" will also no longer fall under non-compete and conflict of interest provisions if they earn $350,000 or less annually.
For those making more than this amount, non-compete provisions will not be enforceable if the contract states the non-compete is in place for more than a year or for more than ten miles from your current place of employment. If your employment contract prevents you from transitioning into self-employment or seeking other employment in the same industry, it will be unenforceable. The ban on non-competes does not apply to taking or using a client list or other proprietary client-related information.
Changes to Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI)
The Maryland governor signed SB 485, which was cross-filed with HB 571 on April 25, 2024. These bills will make significant changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act, a federal program. The bills also updated and changed the Maryland Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance program, first established in 2022. The FAMLI program would cover all Maryland employers with at least one employee and would receive funding from employers and employees.
While employers with 14 or fewer employees are not required to contribute to the FAMLI plan, employees in these smaller businesses will be required to make contributions and will be entitled to FAMLI benefits. Eligible employees will receive up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave per benefit year for any reason or event specified in the program.
Settling Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Costs MD Casino $100,000 | MD
Golden Entertainment agreed in May 2024 to pay $100,000 to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit. The company also agreed to provide managers, employees, and supervisors with comprehensive sexual harassment prevention training. The EEOC lawsuit stated that a bartender (male) who worked at the Rocky Gap Casino subjected another bartender (female) to repeated incidences of sexual harassment.
The sexual harassment included unwanted sexually suggestive comments as well as unwanted physical contact when he repeatedly groped the female’s buttocks. When the female bartender complained to her supervisor about the harassment, the casino ignored her complaints and continued to schedule the two to work together.
When the female made multiple complaints about the sexual harassment, the casino finally reassigned her to a station where she made considerably less money, and she eventually resigned from her position.
Discrimination and harassment cause wide-ranging harm
You should feel safe and secure at your place of employment. It sounds like a simple thing, but if you're reading this post, then you may have felt threatened, harassed, or treated unfairly at work.
Despite being illegal for decades, sexual harassment and workplace discrimination are rampant in Maryland workplaces, leaving individuals like you missing out on key employment opportunities and facing retaliation for reporting harassing and discriminatory behavior.
Yet, a lot of people who are subjected to harassment and discrimination let the matter go without taking any formal action. Sometimes this is because they fail to recognize the egregious behavior for what it is, and in other instances they think that it's easier to just let it go and deal with the consequence than to fight for accountability.
This just perpetuates the cycle of harassment and discrimination, which is one reason why you should fight to hold your employer responsible for the harm that they've caused to you. And don't for a second think that those damages are minor. In fact, the true harm caused by harassment and discrimination is more severe than many people realize.
Five tips for building your age discrimination claim
If you're 40 years of age or older, then there's a good chance that you have additional workplace protections against age discrimination. Yet, despite laws prohibiting age discrimination, the issue continues to run rampant in workplaces across the country. One reason is that workers simply can't identify when age discrimination occurs. In some instances, these individuals minimize the behavior exhibited towards them, while in others they aren't aware of their employer's motivation for taking certain actions against them.
But you can't afford to let your employer get away with workplace discrimination. If you do, then you could wind up with a stunted career, lost income, a damaged reputation, and mental anguish. To avoid those outcomes, you need to take legal action to hold your employer accountable for the age discrimination they've exhibited towards you.
How can you build an effective age discrimination case?
You have to be thorough as you build your age discrimination case. This means taking the following actions to develop your claim:
What to know about the ADA's reasonable accommodations provision
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides legal protections to disabled workers. These protections apply to all state and local governments, as well as private businesses that employ 15 or more people.
One of the key protections provided by the ADA is the right to request reasonable accommodations. Here, a disabled worker can request a modification to hiring practices or work environment to allow them an equal opportunity to secure the job in question, effectively perform their job duties, and enjoy the benefits of their job.
And reasonable accommodations can cover a lot. For example, you might be able to successfully request physical changes to your workspace, the installation of beneficial computer programming, the use of interpreters or closed captioning at meetings, and the use of a service animal. So, think through what you need to be successful at your place of work, then consider requesting the accommodations that are right for you.
When does workplace harassment become illegal?
Most of us maintain friendly and professional relationships with our work colleagues. But no matter what job or industry you work in, you are bound to encounter colleagues you do not get along with or who cause you frustration, anger or make your job more difficult.
This sometimes leads to workplace conflicts. While conflict is to be expected at times, if you are feeling harassed by another employee, you may wonder when the harassing conduct crosses the line and becomes illegal.
According to the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission ("EEOC"), workplace harassment becomes illegal when the unwelcome conduct is based on certain categories. Some of these categories include age, color, disability, national origin, race or religion.
Harassment also becomes illegal when it turns your working environment hostile. A hostile work environment is one where the harassment becomes severe enough to create a substantially negative work environment.
Avoid these mistakes in your workplace discrimination case
You should enjoy the equal employment opportunities that are provided to others at your job. Yet, employers often try to get away with discrimination to force employees out and to avoid recognizing their hard work.
If you've suffered an adverse employment decision because of your status in a protected class, then you should think about taking legal action to hold your employer accountable and to recover the compensation that you're owed.
While a workplace discrimination lawsuit might give you hope, as it should, these cases tend to be complex. And there are several missteps that can be made along the way that can jeopardize your claim. Therefore, you'll want to proceed with care and be cognizant of the mistakes that could cost you your ability to win your case.
Mistakes to avoid in your workplace discrimination case
Your workplace discrimination case might seem straightforward, but it can be complicated by a number of factors, including any errors that you make. To avoid making your case more convoluted, avoid making these mistakes:
Wrongful termination of professionals in Maryland
When a company decides to terminate an employee, a person from human resources or a supervisor may have a conversation with said employee to explain the reasons for the termination. In some cases, the employee may accept these reasons without issue and move on to their next employment opportunity. In other cases, however, the employee may dispute the employer's reasons or find them to be unsatisfactory.
In at-will employment states such as Maryland, even unsatisfactory reasons for termination are acceptable, as long as the reasons are legal. The following examples may constitute legal reasons to terminate an employee:
- The employee was not getting along with their coworkers.
- The employee was regularly absent or late.
- The employee failed to perform up to the standards of the employer.
- The employee violated a workplace policy.
What constitutes a wrongful termination?
If you have been fired for an illegal reason, you may have a valid claim against your employer for wrongful termination. To prove wrongful termination, you will need to establish that your termination violated public policy and that there was a connection between your termination and the public policy. Under federal and state public policies, an employer cannot fire an employee for discriminatory or retaliatory reasons:
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