Pay Frequency and Wage-Payment Lag Requirements in Maryland

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Ordinary employees must be paid biweekly or twice monthly

Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-502(a) requires the employer to set regular pay periods and pay each ordinary employee at least once every two weeks or twice in each month.

Administrative, executive, and professional employees may be paid less frequently. The section does not supply a maximum interval for that alternative.

Maryland does not state a separate payroll-lag ceiling

The statute fixes frequency but does not say that wages must be paid within a particular number of days after the earnings period closes. It does resolve one calendar issue: if the regular payday is a nonworkday, payment must occur on the preceding workday, not the next workday afterward.

Payday notice starts at hiring

Under § 3-504(a), the written notice given at hiring must identify the regular paydays the employer has set. A change in a payday or wage requires notice at least one pay period in advance. A wage increase is separately allowed without advance notice under § 3-504(b).

The civil remedy begins after two weeks

If an employer fails to pay as required by § 3-502 and two weeks pass after the due date, the employee may sue for the unpaid wages. If the withholding was not the result of a bona fide dispute, the court may award up to three times the wage plus reasonable counsel fees and other costs.

What trips people up

Maryland's “twice each month” and “once every two weeks” schedules are alternatives. They are not the same calendar: a biweekly schedule produces 26 paydays in a typical year, while a twice-monthly schedule produces 24.

The nonworkday rule moves payment earlier. An employer should not postpone a regular payday to the next workday when § 3-502(b) requires the preceding one.

Common questions

May an ordinary Maryland employee be paid monthly?

No. The ordinary floor is once every two weeks or twice each month. The statute allows less frequent pay only for administrative, executive, and professional employees.

How much notice is required before changing payday?

At least one pay period in advance under § 3-504(a)(3).

What happens if payday falls on a holiday or other nonworkday?

The employer must pay on the preceding workday.

Statutes and sources

• Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-501(b). Employer coverage. Official text (accessed July 12, 2026).
• Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-502. Regular periods, frequency, classification exception, and preceding-workday rule. Official text (accessed July 12, 2026).
• Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-504. Hiring notice and advance notice of a payday change. Official text (accessed July 12, 2026).
• Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-507.2. Civil action, enhanced damages, counsel fees, and costs. Official text (accessed July 12, 2026).