Legal Question in Medical Leave in Maryland

Re: Maryland vs. the federal government

I am not quite certain what you mean by "supercede"??? If you are asking whether there is any provision of Maryland Law that incorporates all or part of the FMLA into it, then the answer is yes.

If you are asking whether Maryland has any statute that limits the way that the FMLA is applicable in Maryland, the answer is that there are almost certainly no such statutes. The reason is that such a statute would be unenforceable. There is a legal principal known as "preemption". When the federal legislature "occupies" an area of law, it "preempts" the states from making any law that would offer less protection than the federal law provides. So, for example, the FMLA is intended to benefit employees. Thus, the state could not pass an enforceable law that would lessen the protection offered to employees by the FMLA.

If you are asking whether there are any Maryland statues that incorporate some or all of the FMLA by reference, the answer is that there are numerous Maryland statutory provisions that incorporate portions of the FMLA (mostly relating to state employees). If you want to look at some of them (or any other primary resource on maryland law), go to Loislaw.com and sign-up for a free trial 10 day subscription (if it's still available to do that). It will let you conduct searches of the Codes in most states (including Maryland), and some (but not all) of the caselaw as well.

If you have a specific question, I would happy to chat with you for a few moments. Just give me a call at the number below:

Lawrence R. Holzman, Esquire

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.

6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 400

Greenbelt, MD 20770

(301) 220-2200

fax (301) 220-1214

Disclaimer: Please note that the posting of this response is not intended to constitute legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain information applicable to your situation. This posting is not confidential or privileged and does not create an attorney/client relationship.