Labor, Employment, Benefits & Immigration

Senate Bill 1080 which was cross-filed with House Bill 1663, were recently passed by both the House (March 17, 2020) and the Senate (March 18, 2020). The Bill is on its way to Governor Hogan, who is expected to sign it into law.

Among other issues, the Bill expands employees’ eligibility for unemployment compensation due to the impact of the current COVID-19 health emergency. Specifically, the Bill provides that an employee need not separate from employment to be eligible for unemployment payments if:

1. the individual’s employer temporarily ceases operations due to COVID-19, preventing employees from coming to work; 
2. the individual is quarantined due to COVID-19, with the expectation of returning to work after the quarantine is over; or 
3. the individual leaves employment due to a risk of exposure or infection of COVID-19 or to care for a family member due to COVID-19.

As an emergency measure, the law will be effective upon signature by Governor Hogan. By its terms, the law will expire on April 30, 2021.

In addition to the new legislation, the impact of COVID-19 on Maryland’s workforce has raised a number of unusual questions concerning eligibility for unemployment benefits. The Maryland Department of Labor (“MDDOL”) has added a “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ) section to its website to help answer some of these questions. For example, the FAQs confirm that an employee who is still working but whose hours have been reduced may be entitled to unemployment compensation. The FAQs may be found here.

This alert was written by Marc Sloane, a lawyer in the Labor, Employment, Benefits & Immigration practice group at Miles & Stockbridge.

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