Maryland Minimum Wage Increase - Effective January 1, 2024

Effective Jan. 1, 2024, all Maryland employers will have to pay their hourly employees a minimum wage of $15 per hour. This requirement stems from the enactment of Maryland Senate Bill 555 ( SB555), also known as the Fair Wage Act of 2023, which was signed into law by Maryland Governor Wes Moore on April 11, 2023.  With most Montgomery County-based employers already required by County law to pay a minimum wage rate of $15 or more per hour, this new State law will apply to Montgomery County employers with 10 or fewer employees who must raise employee wages from $14.50 to $15 per hour beginning Jan. 1, 2024. On July 1, 2023, the County minimum wage increased to:

• $16.70 per hour for large employers (those with 51 employees or more).
• $15.00 per hour for mid-sized employers (11-50 employees).
• $14.50 per hour for small employers (1-10 employees).

Employers in Montgomery County are obligated to comply with the State or County’s minimum wage, whichever is higher. Therefore, large employers in the County are still required to continue paying their employees a minimum wage of $16.70 per hour.

• Minimum Wage Transition Table
• Minimum Wage Press Release
• Minimum Wage Flier Notice (download in  English |  Español) from the Maryland Department of Labor.

Montgomery County Minimum Wage Increase - Effective July 1, 2024

The Montgomery County minimum wage rate will be adjusted upward on July 1 to keep pace with local inflation as required by County law. Starting July 1, the minimum wage rate for large employers (with 51 or more employees) will increase by 45 cents to $17.15 per hour, while the minimum wage rate for mid-sized employers (with 11-50 employees) will increase by 50 cents to a rate of $15.50 per hour. The rate for small employers (10 or fewer employees) will remain at the $15 per hour rate that became effective Jan. 1, 2024, pursuant to State law. The new rates are based on the change in the consumer price index for all urban wage earners and clerical workers in the Washington, D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria area for the previous year, which was 2.8 percent.

Tipped Employees

Tipped employees (earning more than $30 per month in tips) must earn the Montgomery County Minimum Wage Rate per hour. Employers must pay at least $4.00 per hour. This amount plus tips must equal at least the Montgomery County Minimum Wage Rate. Restaurant employers who utilize a tip credit are required to provide employees with a written or electronic wage statement for each pay period showing the employee’s effective hourly rate of pay including employer paid cash wages plus tips for tip credit hours worked for each workweek of the pay period.

Minimum Wage Reporting

Montgomery County Code, Chapter 27-Human Rights and Civil Liberties, Section 27-69 (d), requires employers of tipped employees to submit a quarterly wage report within 30 days after the end of each quarter to the Montgomery County Office of Human Rights. Please select the button below to file a report.

Minimum Wage Reporting Form

Minimum Wage Transition Table

A “ large employer” is an employer who employs 51 or more employees. The minimum wage for large employers required under County Code Section 27-68 is adjusted annually on July 1 according to the average increase, if any, in the previous year’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for Washington-Arlington, rounded to the nearest five cents;

A “ mid-sized employer” is:

• an employer who employs between 11 and 50 employees; or
• an employer who employs eleven or more employees and:
  • has tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; or
  • provides “home health services” as defined by 42 C.F.R. § 440.70 or “home or community-based services” as defined by 42 C.F.R. § 440.180, and receives at least 75% of gross revenues through state and federal Medicaid programs.

A “ small employer” is an employer who employs 10 or fewer employees.

¹ On January 1, 2024, the Maryland Fair Wage Act of 2023 raised the minimum hourly wage for all employers to $15 statewide. As a result of this change to State law, the $15 wage rate for Montgomery County small employers increased on January 1, six months ahead of County law.

² Beginning July 1, 2024, the minimum wage for mid-size employers will be adjusted annually by the average increase, if any, in the previous year’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for Washington-Arlington, rounded to the nearest five cents. If the rate increase is less than $0.50 and the mid-sized employer minimum wage rate does not equal the large employer minimum wage rate, an additional adjustment equal to one percent of the minimum wage required for the prior year will be added to the annual adjustment, up to a combined total increase of $0.50.

³ Beginning July 1, 2025, the minimum wage for small employers will be adjusted annually by the average increase, if any, in the previous year’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for Washington-Arlington, rounded to the nearest five cents. If the rate increase is less than $0.50 and the small employer minimum wage rate does not equal the minimum wage rate for other employers, an additional adjustment equal to one percent of the minimum wage required for the prior year will be added to the annual adjustment, up to a combined total increase of $0.50.