The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Maryland
- Level
- State
- Authority
- Md. Const. art. III; 29 U.S.C. § 667 (approved State plan; MOSH covers private-sector and State and local government employers)
- Effective
- in force throughout 2020 Q2 to 2021 Q3
- End
- standing (read as 2021-09-30)
- In force
- Standing (a statutory duty; in force throughout the six quarters)
- Quarters
- 2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Workplace rulesStanding duty
- Addressees
- employers; employees (subsection (b)(2))
- Character
- workplace duty
- Collection
- Standing duties: Maryland DUT-MD
Operative words
(a) Each employer shall provide each employee... with employment and a place of employment that are: (1) safe and healthful; and (2) free from each recognized hazard that is causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to the employee. (b) (1) Each employer shall comply with this title, each applicable regulation... and each applicable order... under this title.
Penalty
Lab. & Empl. § 5-809: the Commissioner 'shall assess a civil penalty' for a serious violation and 'may' for willful, repeated and other violations (Ex. DUT-MD-011); § 5-810 (2020 text): up to $7,000 per violation and per day of failure to correct, up to $70,000 for willful or repeated violations, minimum $5,000 for willful (Ex. DUT-MD-012)
What it required
Bound every Maryland employer, in every quarter, to a workplace free of the recognized hazard of SARS-CoV-2 transmission as the health authorities defined it, and to comply with every MOSH regulation and order, including the COVID-19 ETS adopted August 27, 2021 (Ex. DUT-MD-016).
Retrieval noteMaryland's clause is broader than 29 U.S.C. § 654(a)(1): it requires a workplace both 'safe and healthful' and free of recognized hazards, and it independently commands compliance with every Commissioner's regulation and order. MOSH's standing incorporation of the federal standards (29 C.F.R. parts 1910 and 1926, COMAR 09.12.31) carried the respiratory protection, PPE, sanitation and recordkeeping standards MOSH cited in COVID-19 inspections. Lab. & Empl. § 3-1704 (Ch. 736 of 2021) preserves the essential worker's right under § 5-604 to refuse an assigned task.