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Requiring certain persons that receive certain State economic development assistance to make a certification each year that the person was not the subject of a certain final adverse determination and is not currently failing to comply with certain outstanding requirements under a prior final judgment or order; requiring a certain unit of State government to initiate a pause on disbursements or approvals of certain economic development assistance or the award or renewal of certain State contracts; etc.

Prohibiting employers and their agents, representatives, and designees from taking certain actions against an employee or applicant for employment because the employee or applicant takes certain actions regarding employer-sponsored meetings during which the employer communicates the opinion of the employer regarding religious matters or political matters; authorizing an employee to file a certain complaint with the Commissioner of Labor and Industry; etc.

Establishing the GED Option Pilot Program to expand the GED Option Program to students beyond English language learners to ensure a pathway for students to obtain a high school diploma and prepare for postsecondary education or the workforce; requiring the Maryland Department of Labor to establish criteria to select certain local school systems for participation in the Program; establishing the MDiplomaWorks pathway as an alternative method of earning a high school diploma in the State; etc.

Prohibiting a person from engaging in certain surveillance-based price setting; making a certain violation of the Act an unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practice that is subject to enforcement and penalties under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act; and prohibiting an employer from engaging in certain surveillance-based wage setting.

Prohibiting a person from knowingly making or using, or causing to be made or used, a false record or statement resulting in underpayments of unemployment insurance contributions or payment of unemployment insurance benefits of more than $15,000 in a calendar year; altering the enforcement mechanisms related to workplace fraud laws, living wage laws, and prevailing wage laws, including authorizing the Attorney General to investigate and bring suit in a certain manner; etc.

Altering the exemption from overtime pay for individuals who are employed to work in an administrative, executive, or professional capacity.

Prohibiting a person from knowingly making or using, or causing to be made or used, a false record or statement resulting in underpayments of unemployment insurance contributions or payment of unemployment insurance benefits of more than $15,000; altering the enforcement mechanisms related to workplace fraud laws, living wage laws, and prevailing wage laws, including authorizing the Attorney General to investigate and bring suit in a certain manner; etc.

Prohibiting employers from requiring, as a condition of employment, employees or prospective employees to enter into training repayment agreements; defining "training repayment agreement" as one that requires an employee to pay an employer or a third party, such as a training provider, a sum of money if the employee voluntarily or involuntarily leaves employment with the employer; and providing that an agreement that constitutes a training repayment agreement is null and void as being against the public policy of the State.

Requiring a transportation network company to pay operators, after July 1, 2026, and for any passenger trip originating in the State, $1.66 per mile and $0.40 per minute, an additional $1.18 per mile for an operator using a wheelchair accessible vehicle, at least $5.00 for any passenger trip, and at least 80% of any cancellation fee charged by a transportation network company; and adjusting the minimum amount paid per mile and per minute by inflation each year.

Prohibiting a railroad train used in connection with the movement of freight from being operated in the State unless it has at least two crew members, subject to certain exceptions; providing a penalty for a first offense of up to $10,000 or in the case of a willful violation within the immediately preceding 3 years, or a fine of up to $25,000; etc.

Requiring employers with 100 or more employees that reduced their workforce in the State by a least 10 employees while using automation technology to submit certain information to the Secretary of Labor concerning the number of employees employed, automation technology deployed or used, and certain employees separated from employment during the immediately preceding calendar year; requiring a certain covered employer to pay a certain assessment for each displaced employee reported by the covered employer; etc.

Establishing the GED Option Pilot Program to expand the GED Option Program to students beyond English language learners to ensure a pathway for students to obtain a high school diploma and prepare for postsecondary education or the workforce; requiring the Maryland Department of Labor to establish criteria to select certain local school systems for participation in the Program; establishing the MDiplomaWorks pathway as an alternative method of earning a high school diploma in the State; etc.

Applying certain provisions of law regarding priority registration at public institutions of higher education, resources and support at community colleges, senatorial and Delegate scholarships, and preferences in hiring by the Public Service Commission to the spouses of active service members and veterans; etc.

Expanding certain protections against employment discrimination to apply to temporary disabilities caused or contributed to by childbirth, menopause, or a related medical condition.

Requiring governmental units that employ firefighters to compute overtime pay for each hour over 168 hours that a firefighter works during a 28-day work period; requiring counties and municipalities to provide certain payroll information to each employed firefighter; authorizing a firefighter or the firefighter's exclusive representative to initiate a certain grievance if a county or municipality does not provide the payroll information as required or wages due; etc.

Requiring the Director of Education and Workforce Skills Training for Correctional Institutions to consult with the State Correctional Ombudsman about the operation of education and workforce skills training programs in adult correctional institutions; establishing the Certified Peer Recovery Specialist Training Program for Incarcerated Individuals in the Maryland Department of Labor; and authorizing the Governor in fiscal year 2028 and each fiscal year thereafter to provide sufficient funding for the program in the annual budget bill.

Prohibiting a food retailer from engaging in the practice of dynamic pricing or using consumer surveillance data to set a price for consumer goods or services; prohibiting a food retailer from using protected class data to offer, advertise, or sell a consumer good or service under certain circumstances; prohibiting a food retailer from diminishing or impairing any right or benefit guaranteed to employees of the food retailer under an existing collective bargaining agreement or memorandum of understanding; etc.

Prohibiting employers and their agents, representatives, and designees from taking certain actions against an employee or applicant for employment because the employee or applicant takes certain actions regarding employer-sponsored meetings during which the employer communicates the opinion of the employer regarding religious matters or political matters; authorizing an employee to file a certain complaint with the Commissioner of Labor and Industry; etc.

Prohibiting employment discrimination based on an individual's caregiver status.

Applying certain provisions of law regarding priority registration at public institutions of higher education, resources and support at community colleges, senatorial and Delegate scholarships, and preferences in hiring by the Public Service Commission to the spouses of active service members and veterans; etc.

Requiring governmental units that employ firefighters to compute overtime pay for each hour over 168 hours that a firefighter works during a 28-day work period; requiring counties and municipalities to provide certain payroll information to each employed firefighter; authorizing a firefighter or the firefighter's exclusive representative to initiate a certain grievance if a county or municipality does not provide the payroll information as required or wages due; etc.

Prohibiting a railroad train used in connection with the movement of freight from being operated in the State unless it has at least two crew members, subject to certain exceptions; providing a penalty for a first offense of up to $10,000 or in the case of a willful violation within the immediately preceding 3 years, or a fine of up to $25,000; etc.

Prohibiting a food retailer from engaging in the practice of dynamic pricing or using consumer surveillance data to set a price for consumer goods or services; prohibiting a food retailer from using protected class data to offer, advertise, or sell a consumer good or service under certain circumstances; prohibiting a food retailer from diminishing or impairing any right or benefit guaranteed to employees of the food retailer under an existing collective bargaining agreement or memorandum of understanding; etc.

Establishing the Workforce Opportunities Grant Program to provide grants to certain organizations to support the planning and execution of workforce events and job fairs in the State; establishing the Workforce Opportunities Grant Fund as a special, nonlapsing fund to support the Program; requiring that interest earnings be credited to the Fund; and requiring, for each of fiscal years 2028 through 2030, the Governor to include in the annual budget an appropriation of at least $500,000 to the Program.

Establishing the Federal Employee to Entrepreneur Program in the Department of Commerce to provide former or transitioning federal employees with the training, tools, and mentorship necessary for successfully transitioning to entrepreneurship; and requiring the Governor to include in the annual budget bill an appropriation of $400,000 for the Program.

Applying certain provisions of law establishing that certain noncompete and conflict of interest provisions in certain employment contracts are null and void as being against the public policy of the State to employees of certain employers that relocate, reorganize, or otherwise cease to have the majority of its employees or principal place of business located in the State.

Requiring a nursing home to expend at least 75% of its total nursing and residential care revenue for direct care wages and benefits; and requiring nursing homes by September 1 each year, beginning in 2027, to submit a cost report with documentation of wage disbursement and other appropriate information to the Maryland Department of Health.

Authorizing a merchant to round certain cash transactions in a certain manner or round the amount of change due to a customer in a certain manner; authorizing an employer to round a wage that the employer pays using cash in a certain manner; and providing that certain provisions of the Act shall preempt existing regulations, rules, and ordinances that conflict with certain provisions of the Act.

Establishing the Workforce Opportunities Grant Program to provide grants to certain organizations to support the planning and execution of workforce events and job fairs in the State; establishing the Workforce Opportunities Grant Fund as a special, nonlapsing fund to support the Program; requiring that interest earnings be credited to the Fund; and requiring, for each of fiscal years 2028 through 2030, the Governor to include in the annual budget an appropriation of at least $500,000 to the Program.

Requiring the Maryland Department of Labor to allocate money from the Hospital Employees Retraining Fund to local workforce development boards under certain circumstances; altering certain workforce development programs to require inclusion of local workforce boards; requiring the Department to provide funding to a local workforce board as part of a certain quick response program; requiring local workforce boards to provide grants to employers under the Apprenticeship Career Training in Our Neighborhoods Program; etc.

Requiring certain employers to develop, implement, and maintain an excessive heat-related illness prevention plan for employees; requiring certain employers to develop and implement an acclimatization plan for certain employees or follow the acclimatization plan established by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; requiring certain employers to monitor temperature in certain work locations and provide shade and water to employees; etc.

Establishing certain civil penalties for violations of law involving the employment of minors; prohibiting employers from allowing the formation of a certain organization or entity under certain circumstances; authorizing certain private employees to petition the Public Employee Relations Board to resolve certain matters under certain circumstances; prohibiting Executive Branch units from applying for a waiver of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act; etc.

Authorizing an employer to require an applicant to disclose the applicant's engagement in certain actions only if the disclosure is related to specific job requirements; prohibiting an employer from taking certain adverse action against an employee if the employee engages in certain activity; and providing that adverse action taken against an employee within 120 days after the employee engages in activity protected under the Act creates a rebuttable presumption of retaliation.

Applying certain provisions of law establishing that certain noncompete and conflict of interest provisions in certain employment contracts are null and void as being against the public policy of the State to employees of certain employers that relocate majority of its employees or principal place of business outside the State.

Authorizing a merchant to round certain cash transactions in a certain manner or round the amount of change due to a customer in a certain manner; authorizing an employer to round a wage that the employer pays using cash in a certain manner; and providing that certain provisions of the Act shall preempt existing regulations, rules, and ordinances that conflict with certain provisions of the Act.

Prohibiting a person from engaging in surveillance-based price setting to set the price of consumer goods or services; prohibiting a food retailer from using electronic shelving labels to display the prices of consumer goods, and instead requiring the use of nondigital presentations of price; making a certain violation of the Act an unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practice under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act; and prohibiting an employer from engaging in surveillance-based wage setting.

Establishing collective bargaining rights for employees of employers who operate controlled-environment agricultural operations; requiring the Secretary of Labor to establish by regulation certain procedures related to collective bargaining; authorizing the Secretary to investigate violations regarding and enforce certain provisions of the Act related to collective bargaining; and requiring the employers who operate controlled-environment agricultural operations to provide to their employees certain rest breaks under certain circumstances.

Establishing that every person, as a central component of an individual's right to liberty and equality, has the fundamental right while engaged in employment in the State to be paid at a wage rate that is at least equal to the State minimum wage rate set by law without regard to tips that the individual receives; repealing exemptions from Maryland Wage and Hour Law; specifying the State minimum wage rate and tip credit amount that is in effect for certain time periods; etc.

Establishing collective bargaining rights for employees of employers who operate controlled-environment agricultural operations; requiring the Secretary of Labor to establish by regulation certain procedures related to collective bargaining; authorizing the Secretary to investigate violations regarding and enforce certain provisions of the Act related to collective bargaining; and requiring employers who operate controlled-environment agricultural operations to provide to their employees certain rest breaks under certain circumstances.

Requiring provider agencies to pay at least $17 per hour to personal care aides and to provide a certain notice regarding the wage to personal care aides; and requiring provider agencies to provide personal care aides with a certain minimum amount of earned sick and safe leave.

Establishing that every person, as a central component of an individual's right to liberty and equality, has the fundamental right while engaged in employment in the State to be paid at a wage rate that is at least equal to the State minimum wage rate set by law without regard to tips that the individual receives; repealing exemptions from Maryland Wage and Hour Law; specifying the State minimum wage rate and tip credit amount that is in effect for certain time periods; etc.

Altering categories of individuals whose deaths would allow an employee to use leave with pay for bereavement leave under a certain provision of law to include an individual with whom the employee had a qualified relationship; and defining "qualified relationship" to include an immediate family member, a grandparent, sibling, domestic partner, step-relation, adoptive relation, foster relation, and a de facto relation.

Requiring certain employers that receive $250,000 or more in State public funds as part of a single transaction or contract with the State, as a condition of receiving the funds, to agree not to engage in certain unfair labor practices and to make other related agreements and acknowledgements; authorizing the State to recapture the State public funds received by an employer who violates certain agreements; etc.

Authorizing an employer to require an applicant to disclose the applicant's engagement in certain actions only if the disclosure is related to certain job requirements; prohibiting an employer from taking certain adverse action against an employee if the employee engages in certain activity; and providing that adverse action taken against an employee within 120 days after the employee engages in activity protected under the Act creates a rebuttable presumption of retaliation.

Requiring the Maryland Department of Labor to allocate money from the Hospital Employees Retraining Fund to local workforce development boards under certain circumstances; altering certain workforce development programs to require inclusion of local workforce boards; requiring the Department to provide funding to a local workforce board as part of a certain quick response program; requiring local workforce boards to provide grants to employers under the Apprenticeship Career Training in Our Neighborhoods Program; etc.

Requiring a nursing home to expend at least 75% of its total nursing and residential care revenue for direct care wages and benefits; and requiring nursing homes by September 1 each year, beginning in 2027, to submit a cost report with documentation of wage disbursement and other appropriate information to the Maryland Department of Health.

Establishing certain civil penalties for violations of law involving the employment of minors; prohibiting employers from allowing the formation of a certain organization or entity under certain circumstances; authorizing certain private employees to petition the Public Employee Relations Board to resolve certain matters under certain circumstances; prohibiting Executive Branch units from applying for a waiver of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act; etc.

Increasing the State minimum wage rate to $18 for calendar year 2028 for large employers and for calendar year 2029 for small employers; and increasing, beginning January 1, 2029, and January 1, 2030, for large employers and small employers, respectively, the State minimum wage rate in effect for certain periods of time based on annual growth in a certain consumer price index, as determined by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry.

Applying certain provisions of law establishing that certain noncompete and conflict of interest provisions in certain employment contracts are null and void as being against the public policy of the State to employees of certain employers that relocate majority of its employees or principal place of business outside the State.

Requiring, if a merchant rounds up the price of a cash transaction for a good or service in a certain manner, the merchant to remit to the Comptroller the difference between the total price the customer is required to pay after the rounding occurs and the price before the rounding occurs; and requiring the Comptroller to distribute certain revenue to the General Fund of the State.

Establishing the Maryland Labor Relations Board as an independent unit of State government to oversee collective bargaining activities for certain private sector employees; establishing certain rights for employees and employers related to collective bargaining; establishing certain procedures related to elections and certification of exclusive representatives; and prohibiting an employer and employee organizations from engaging in certain unfair labor practices.

Requiring employers that employ 15 or more individuals or are governmental units to provide full-time and part-time employees who are parents at least 20 hours of paid leave each year to attend school functions at the public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school at which the employee's child is enrolled.

Establishing the Temporary Worker Oversight Unit in the Maryland Department of Labor; requiring recruiters of temporary workers that operate in the State to register with the Department and post a certain bond; prohibiting employers and recruiters of temporary workers from taking certain actions; prohibiting an employer from employing a temporary worker before filing a certain affidavit; authorizing temporary workers to allow representatives of certain organizations to enter employer-provided housing; etc.

Requiring, as a condition of licensure, certain applicants for cannabis licenses and cannabis licensees to establish the existence of a certain labor peace agreement under certain circumstances; defining "labor peace agreement" as one that, at a minimum, protects the State's interests by prohibiting the labor organization from engaging in picketing, work stoppages, boycotts, or any other economic interferences with certain entities within the first 5 years of the effective date of a license; etc.