Leave for Deployment of Family Members 

Leave for Deployment of Family Members Effective October 1, 2013, a new law in Maryland 

requires employers who employ 50 or more individuals to allow certain employees to take 

leave from work on the day that an immediate family member (spouse, parent, stepparent,

 child, stepchild, or sibling) is leaving for, or returning from, active duty outside the United

 States as a member of the armed forces. 

  To be eligible for this leave, an individual must be employed by a covered employer to 

work full-time or part-time, and the individual must have worked for the employer for the 

last 12 months and worked for at least 1,250 hours during the last 12 months.   An 

employer may not require an employee to use compensatory, sick, or vacation leave when 

taking leave under this law. The employer may require the employee to submit proof 

verifying that the leave for deployment is being taken in accordance with the law. 

  Note: The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) also requires employers with 50 

or more employees to provide certain eligible employees with up to 12 workweeks of 

unpaid, job-protected leave during any 12-month period for special issues (called 

"qualified exigencies") that arise when the employee's spouse, son, daughter or parent is 

on covered active duty or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active 

duty.

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