Maryland ban-the-box law: the Criminal Record Screening Practices rule

Maryland's ban-the-box law for private employers, in Labor and Employment sections 3-1501 to 3-1505, applies to employers with 15 or more full-time employees. It says an employer may not require an applicant to disclose whether they have a criminal record, or have had criminal accusations brought against them, at any time before the first in-person interview, and may require that disclosure during that interview. Employers serving minors or vulnerable adults are exempt, local laws may be stricter, and the penalty for a repeat violation is up to $300 per affected applicant.

The statute

The subtitle has five sections:

• 3-1501, definitions. "Criminal record" means an arrest, a plea or verdict of guilty, a plea of nolo contendere, a charge marked "stet," a disposition of probation before judgment, or a disposition of not criminally responsible. "Employer" means "a person who employs 15 or more full-time employees" and includes a person acting directly or indirectly in the employer's interest.
• 3-1502, scope. The exemptions and the rule that local laws may be more restrictive.
• 3-1503, the rule. "An employer may not, at any time before the first in-person interview, require an applicant to disclose whether the applicant has a criminal record or has had criminal accusations brought against the applicant." Subsection (b) allows requiring that disclosure "during the first in-person interview."
• 3-1504, retaliation. No personnel action or reprisal against an applicant or employee for claiming a violation.
• 3-1505, enforcement. Compliance orders and civil penalties, covered below.

Who is covered

• Employers with 15 or more full-time employees. The threshold counts full-time employees.
• People acting for them. The definition includes "a person who acts, directly or indirectly, in the interest of an employer with respect to an employee of the employer."
• Temporary and agency work. "Employment" includes "contractual, temporary, seasonal, or contingent work" and "work through the services of a temporary or other employment agency."

Exceptions

Under 3-1502(a), the subtitle does not:

• prohibit an employer from making an inquiry or taking other action that it is required to take, or "expressly authorized to take," by another federal or state law; or
• apply to "an employer that provides programs, services, or direct care to minors or to vulnerable adults."

The second exemption turns on the employer's business, not the specific job, so confirm with the client whether it applies before treating any role as exempt.

What is allowed at each stage

Two wording points. The rule is about "requiring" disclosure, and the trigger is the first "in-person" interview. The statute does not say whether a live video interview counts as in person, and we did not find official guidance on it, so a process that is entirely remote should be checked with counsel. "Criminal record" also includes arrests, stet charges and probation before judgment, so a "have you ever been arrested" question on a phone screen is squarely within the ban.

What Maryland does not require

The subtitle does not require an individualized assessment, a preliminary notice or a response period. Section 3-1502(b) says it "may not be construed to preempt a local jurisdiction from enacting or enforcing a law that is more restrictive," so a county or city law may add timing or notice rules for jobs located there. We did not check Maryland county or city ordinances for this page; ask the client whether one applies. Federal Title VII and the FCRA still govern how a record is used and how a report is obtained.

Staffing agencies and recruiters

A recruiter or staffing firm screening for a covered Maryland client is a person acting in the employer's interest, so a pre-interview question about records is the client's violation and arguably the agency's. A staffing firm with 15 or more full-time employees of its own is also an employer in its own right. Agree with each Maryland client that the agency will not collect criminal history at all, and that any question happens at or after the client's first in-person interview, or after an offer.

Penalties and enforcement

If the Commissioner of Labor and Industry determines that an employer has violated the subtitle, 3-1505(a) says the Commissioner "shall issue an order compelling compliance" and, for a subsequent violation, may assess a civil penalty of up to $300 for each applicant or employee affected. In setting the amount the Commissioner considers the gravity of the violation, the size of the business, the employer's good faith and its history of violations. A penalty is subject to the notice and hearing requirements of the State Government Article.

How it fits with FCRA adverse action

Maryland's timing rule controls when the question may be asked. If the employer later uses a screening company, the federal FCRA controls the rest: a stand-alone disclosure and written authorization before the check, a pre-adverse action notice with the report and the summary of rights before rejecting, a reasonable wait, and a final notice. The steps and templates are in the FCRA background check process and background check notification emails.

How Maryland compares with nearby rules

Maryland's line, the first in-person interview, is easy to confuse with the rules in nearby jurisdictions where many of the same recruiters work:

The practical lesson is that "after the interview" means different things in different places. Leaving criminal history to the post-offer background check is the one approach that fits all three.

Questions to settle with a Maryland client at intake

• Does the client have 15 or more full-time employees?
• Does the client provide programs, services or direct care to minors or vulnerable adults?
• Does another federal or state law require or expressly authorize an earlier inquiry for this role?
• Is the job in a county or city with its own, stricter rule?
• Will there be an in-person interview at all, and who conducts it?

A script for Maryland screens

Candidate volunteers a record on the phone screen: "Thanks for telling me. It isn't part of my screening, so I won't ask about it or note it. If the employer covers background, that happens later in their process."

Client wants the screen to ask "any arrests or convictions?": "Maryland doesn't allow requiring that before the first in-person interview, and arrests count as a criminal record under the statute. If you need it, it belongs in your in-person interview or your background check."

Candidate asks whether a stet or probation before judgment needs to be disclosed: "I don't ask about any of that. If the employer asks later, they'll explain what they need."

A Maryland checklist for recruiting desks

1. Remove criminal record and arrest questions from applications and pre-interview questionnaires for Maryland roles.
2. Keep the topic out of phone and video screens; the earliest point is the employer's first in-person interview.
3. Confirm whether the client counts 15 or more full-time employees and whether the minors and vulnerable adults exemption applies.
4. Ask whether a county or city law adds stricter rules for the job's location.
5. Keep volunteered information out of notes and submittals. See what not to write in interview notes.
6. For federal guidance and general scripts, see ban-the-box laws and interview questions.