Something feels off at work. Maybe your manager keeps passing you over for promotions while less-qualified coworkers move up. Maybe the comments about your age or religion have become a running theme. Maybe you’re held to a different standard than everyone else on your team, and you’re not sure whether that’s just bad management or something that may have legal implications.
Here’s the honest answer: not every unfair thing an employer does crosses a legal line. But Maryland’s anti-discrimination laws are among the strongest in the country, and many workers do not realize how much protection they actually have. If you are searching for a Maryland workplace discrimination lawyer or trying to understand what counts as discrimination at work in Maryland, the law may provide more protection than you think. This article breaks down types of workplace discrimination Maryland law recognizes, who is covered, and what your options are if you believe your rights may have been violated.
The Law Behind the Protections – Maryland’s Fair Employment Practices Act
The main law governing workplace discrimination in Maryland is the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act (FEPA), codified at Md. Code Ann., State Gov’t §§ 20-601 through 20-1202. FEPA prohibits covered employers from discriminating against employees or job applicants because of specific personal characteristics. Enforcement falls to the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights (MCCR), and the law generally applies to employers with 15 or more employees.
What makes Maryland worth paying attention to, beyond just federal law, is that the state has built meaningful protections on top of federal laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). In several areas, Maryland provides broader coverage or stronger statutory protections than federal law.
What Protected Classes Does Maryland Law Cover?
Under Md. Code Ann., State Gov’t § 20-606, it is illegal for a covered employer to discriminate against any employee or applicant based on the following:
- Race (including traits associated with race — more on this below)
- Color
- Religion
- Ancestry or national origin
- Sex (including pregnancy and childbirth)
- Age (workers 18 and older — broader than federal law)
- Marital status
- Sexual orientation
- Gender identity
- Disability (defined more broadly under Maryland law than under the ADA)
- Genetic information (including a refusal to take a genetic test or share results)
- Military status (added as a protected class effective October 1, 2024)
The policy grounding all of this is stated at Md. Code Ann., State Gov’t § 20-602: Maryland’s stated goal is to assure all persons equal opportunity in employment regardless of these characteristics.
Maryland Covers Workers Starting at Age 18
This is one of the more significant differences from federal law. The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) generally protects workers who are 40 or older. Maryland’s FEPA prohibits age discrimination for workers 18 and older, which means younger employees may also bring age-based discrimination claims under state law. This distinction is frequently overlooked and can be important depending on the facts of the case.
Hair Discrimination Is Racial Discrimination in Maryland
In 2020, the Maryland General Assembly passed the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act (Chapters 473 & 474 of the 2020 Acts of the Maryland General Assembly). The CROWN Act amended FEPA to clarify that race discrimination includes discrimination based on traits historically associated with race — such as hair texture, afro hairstyles, and protective hairstyles including braids, twists, and locks. A facially neutral grooming policy that disproportionately impacts Black employees by restricting natural or protective hairstyles may constitute unlawful race discrimination under Maryland law.
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Are Separately Protected
Maryland added sexual orientation as a protected class in employment in 2001, and gender identity was added in 2014. Both are expressly protected under FEPA as distinct categories from sex discrimination. Workers who face adverse treatment because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender are protected under Maryland law, and such conduct may form the basis of a discrimination claim when tied to employment decisions or working conditions.
Discrimination Is Not Just About Getting Fired
This is a point worth making clearly. A lot of people assume discrimination only counts if they lose their job. That’s not the case. Under FEPA, an employer cannot discriminate based on a protected characteristic in any of the following:
- Recruiting and interviewing
- Hiring decisions
- Promotions and demotions
- Pay rates and benefits
- Job assignments and working conditions
- Training opportunities
- Discipline
- Termination or layoff
A manager who steers women away from leadership roles, or who assigns the worst shifts to older workers, or who excludes a disabled employee from training programs can all potentially support a discrimination claim, even if no one has been fired.
Does Harassment Count as Discrimination?
Yes. Under Maryland law, workplace harassment based on a protected characteristic is a form of unlawful employment discrimination under FEPA. The protected bases for harassment under Md. Code Ann., State Gov’t § 20-601 include race, color, religion, ancestry or national origin, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and military status.
Maryland harassment claims are generally evaluated under a totality-of-the-circumstances approach that is consistent with federal hostile work environment standards under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Courts consider whether the conduct is sufficiently severe or pervasive, when viewed in context, to alter the conditions of employment and create an abusive or hostile working environment.
One important point is that harassment protections can apply even in very small workplaces. FEPA generally applies to employers with 15 or more employees for discrimination claims. Harassment claims are evaluated under the same statutory framework, and coverage depends on whether the employer falls within FEPA’s jurisdiction or whether other applicable laws, including federal law or local county ordinances, provide coverage in smaller workplaces.
For employees dealing with harassment, this is often one of the most important parts of understanding what counts as discrimination at work in Maryland, especially when assessing types of workplace discrimination Maryland law recognizes in practice.
What About Retaliation?
Retaliation is strictly prohibited under FEPA. If you report discrimination, file a complaint with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights (MCCR), or participate in a discrimination investigation, your employer cannot legally retaliate against you.
Retaliation can include firing, demotion, pay cuts, negative schedule changes, or any other materially adverse action that would discourage a reasonable worker from asserting their rights.
Retaliation is treated as a separate legal violation under both Maryland law and federal law, including Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA, and it is one of the most commonly filed claims in workplace discrimination cases.
If you are considering your options, speaking with a Maryland workplace discrimination lawyer or an employment discrimination attorney Rockville MD can help you determine whether your situation may involve unlawful retaliation in addition to discrimination.
Are Independent Contractors Protected?
As of October 1, 2019, Maryland expanded FEPA to extend protections to certain independent contractors depending on the nature of the working relationship. Under Md. Code Ann., State Gov’t § 20-601,, coverage may apply where an individual is subjected to discriminatory practices in connection with work performed under a contractual relationship, depending on factors such as control and classification.
If you work as a contractor and believe you were treated differently because of race, age, sex, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status, or another protected characteristic, Maryland law may still apply depending on the nature of your working relationship and the level of control exercised by the employer or hiring entity.
How Do You File a Discrimination Claim in Maryland?
The first step is typically filing a complaint with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights (MCCR). The MCCR has a work-sharing agreement with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), so filing with one agency generally preserves your filing rights with the other.
However, the deadlines are strict and depend on the type of claim:
- Most discrimination and retaliation claims must be filed with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights (MCCR) within 300 days of the alleged unlawful act under FEPA’s administrative process.
- There is no separate universal 2-year filing deadline for harassment claims under FEPA; harassment claims generally follow the same administrative filing timeline when brought through the MCCR process.
These deadlines do not pause while you are going through an internal HR investigation. If you wait too long, you may lose your right to pursue a claim even if your underlying facts are strong.
If you are unsure about timing or whether your situation qualifies, it is often worth speaking with a Maryland workplace discrimination lawyer or an employment discrimination attorney Rockville MD before the deadline expires.
Key Takeaways
- Maryland’s FEPA covers multiple protected classes, including military status added in 2024, and in several areas provides broader protections than federal law.
- Discrimination can occur at any stage of employment — hiring, pay, promotions, assignments, training, discipline, and termination.
- Maryland harassment claims are evaluated under a totality-of-the-circumstances standard that is generally consistent with federal hostile work environment law under Title VII, rather than a meaningfully lower legal threshold.
- Retaliation for reporting discrimination or participating in an investigation is a separate and independently unlawful employment practice under Maryland law.
- Independent contractors may be protected under FEPA depending on the nature of the working relationship and applicable statutory standards.
- Most discrimination and retaliation claims must be filed with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights within 300 days of the alleged unlawful act. These deadlines are not paused by internal HR processes.
- County-level protections in jurisdictions such as Montgomery County and Prince George’s County may provide additional workplace discrimination coverage depending on where you work.
Frequently Asked Questions
My employer has fewer than 15 employees. Do I have any options?
Possibly. Maryland’s Fair Employment Practices Act (FEPA) generally applies to employers with 15 or more employees for most discrimination claims. However, smaller employers may still be covered under other legal frameworks depending on the situation, including certain local county anti-discrimination laws or overlapping federal protections.
Importantly, workplace harassment and discrimination protections may still exist in smaller workplaces depending on the specific facts, the type of claim, and applicable local or federal law. The best way to understand your options is to evaluate your specific circumstances with an attorney.
Can my employer discriminate against me before I’m even hired?
No. FEPA prohibits discrimination at all stages of employment, including recruiting, interviewing, and hiring decisions. Employers and employment agencies are also prohibited from making hiring decisions based on protected characteristics or using pre-employment screening practices that unlawfully disadvantage applicants because of those characteristics.
What if the discrimination was subtle — nothing in writing, just a pattern?
Many discrimination cases are proven through circumstantial evidence because employers rarely document discriminatory intent directly.
Courts may consider patterns such as inconsistent treatment, suspicious timing of adverse actions, shifting or inconsistent explanations, and comparisons to how similarly situated employees were treated. Taken together, these types of evidence can support a viable discrimination claim under Maryland law.
Does Maryland protect pregnant workers specifically?
Yes. Pregnancy-related discrimination is prohibited under FEPA as a form of sex discrimination. This includes pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions.
In addition, Maryland law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related conditions in many circumstances. In some cases, these state protections may go further than federal law under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
If you believe you were denied accommodation or treated differently because of pregnancy, it may be worth speaking with an attorney.
I went to HR and nothing happened. Have I lost my rights?
No. Reporting concerns internally to HR does not stop or extend the legal filing deadline with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights (MCCR).
You may pursue an internal complaint and a formal administrative charge at the same time. However, the administrative filing deadline generally continues to run regardless of internal reporting or investigation processes. In most cases, discrimination and retaliation claims must still be filed within 300 days of the alleged unlawful act.
If you are unsure about timing, it is important to evaluate your situation promptly to avoid missing a filing deadline.
Talk to a Maryland Employment Discrimination Attorney
If something at your job feels wrong, and you think it might be connected to your race, age, sex, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status, or another protected characteristic, it is worth getting a clear-eyed read on where you stand legally.
At The Spencer Firm, LLC, we represent workers in Rockville and throughout Maryland who are dealing with discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in the workplace. We listen, we look at the facts, and we give you an honest picture of your options.
Do not let the clock run out before you get answers. Maryland’s filing deadlines are firm, and there is no way to recover lost time. Contact us through our website today to schedule a confidential consultation.
