Maryland employers must provide employees with leave for military duty in accordance with these state rules.
Officers and enlisted persons of the organized militia who are ordered to active duty or training are protected in their civilian (public and private) employment during periods of active duty or training, under the following conditions:
Certain provisions of federal law have been adopted as state law and apply to members of the Maryland Army National Guard and the Maryland Air National Guard.
If the applicant is still qualified to perform the duties of the position he or she left, the employee must be restored to that former position, or to a position of like seniority, status and pay.
If the employee is not qualified to perform the duties of that position because of a disability sustained during active duty or training, but can perform the duties of any other position, the employee is entitled to another position that will provide like seniority, status and pay.
The employer is not required to reemploy an employee where circumstances have so changed as to make it impossible or unreasonable to do so.
Any person who is restored to a position must be restored in such manner as to give the employment status that the employee would have enjoyed had the employment been continuous from the time of entering active duty or training until being restored to the civilian employment. No fees or costs may be taxed against a person who brings an action to enforce reemployment rights.
Employers with more than 15 employees are required to provide employees with at least 15 days per calendar year of unpaid leave in order to respond to an emergency mission of the Maryland Wing of the Civil Air Patrol.
Employees are to give their employers as much notice as possible of the intended beginning and end of such leaves. Employers may require verification of an employee's eligibility to take such leave.
Employees returning from leave are to be restored to the same position held when the leave began or to a position with equivalent seniority status, benefits, pay and conditions of employment.
An employer and employee may negotiate for the employer to pay for the benefits of the employee during the leave.