Pay Stub Requirements in Maryland
At a glance
| Governing law and coverage | Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. §§ 3-501(b), 3-504(a)(2). Employer includes any person employing an individual in Maryland; statement duty applies to each employee |
|---|---|
| Must provide a statement and when | Written statement for each pay period on physical pay stub or online pay statement (§ 3-504(a)(2)) |
| Pay period, employer, and employee identification | Employer's State-registered name, address, telephone; payment date; pay-period beginning and ending dates. No employee-name/number or SSN field stated (§ 3-504(a)(2)(i)-(ii)) |
| Gross earnings, hours, rates, and pay basis | Hours unless overtime-exempt; rates; gross pay; additional bases including bonuses, sales commissions, or others; piece rates and pieces at each rate (§ 3-504(a)(2)(iii)-(v), (vii)-(viii)) |
| Deductions, net pay, allowances, and other required items | Net pay plus amount and name of every deduction; no general leave-balance, tip, allowance, or employer-contribution field stated (§ 3-504(a)(2)(v)-(vi)) |
| Electronic delivery, consent, printing, and storage | Online pay statement expressly allowed as alternative to physical stub; no employee consent, paper opt-out, printing, saving, or portal-duration condition stated (§ 3-504(a)(2)) |
| Employee copy access and employer retention | No historical-statement request route, copy deadline or cost, former-employee right, or pay-statement retention period stated in §§ 3-504 or 3-507.3 |
| Enforcement, damages, penalties, and deadlines | Commissioner may order required information and up to $500 per affected employee; penalty factors include gravity, employer size, good faith, history. Hearing request: 15 days; compliance: 30 days (§ 3-507.3) |
Requirements one by one
Every pay period gets a physical or online statement
Labor and Employment § 3-501(b) defines employer to include any person who employs an individual in Maryland. Labor and Employment § 3-504(a)(2) then requires a written statement for each pay period “on the physical pay stub or the online pay statement.”
The current detailed list took effect October 1, 2024. Maryland's Department of Labor publishes an optional template and states that a properly completed use of that template will be found compliant.
Identity and dates are express fields
The statement must show the employer's name as registered with the State, address, and telephone number. It also shows the payment date and the beginning and ending dates of the pay period.
The statutory list does not separately name the employee's name, employee number, or Social Security digits as required fields.
Earnings detail changes with the pay method
Unless the employee is exempt from overtime under both federal and Maryland law, the statement shows hours worked during the pay period. It also shows the rates of pay and gross pay.
Additional bases of pay must be listed, including bonuses, sales commissions, or other bases. For piece-rate employees, the statement adds each applicable piece rate and the number of pieces completed at each rate.
Deductions require an amount and a name
Section 3-504(a)(2)(v)-(vi) requires net pay and “the amount and name of all deductions.” The enacted word is “name,” not “purpose,” even though earlier versions of the 2024 legislation used different wording.
The general field list does not add leave balances, employer contributions, allowances, or a universal tip field. Separate restaurant tip-credit statements remain a distinct requirement.
Online delivery is an express option
The statute places a physical pay stub and an online pay statement on the same line. It states no separate employee-consent, paper-opt-out, printing, downloading, saving, or minimum portal-access period.
The Commissioner can order correction and assess per-employee penalties
Under § 3-507.3(a), the Commissioner may describe the violation, direct the employer to supply the missing information, and impose up to $500 for each employee who did not receive a compliant physical or online statement.
Labor and Employment § 3-507.3(c) makes the penalty amount depend on the violation's gravity, business size, employer good faith, and violation history. The employer has 15 days after receiving the order to request an administrative hearing and 30 days after issuance to comply.
What trips people up
Overtime exemption removes the hours field, not the entire pay-statement duty. The other applicable fields remain.
Online delivery is authorized by the statute itself. Maryland does not make the online option depend on consent or a paper waiver in the cited provision.
The Department's template is optional. Its compliance benefit depends on the template being properly completed for the employee's actual pay arrangement.
Common questions
Must the stub show both the payment date and pay-period dates?
Yes. Section 3-504(a)(2)(ii) requires the payment date and the period's beginning and ending dates.
Do overtime-exempt employees need a statement?
Yes. Their exemption removes the statutory hours field, but not the every-pay- period statement or the other required fields.
Must each deduction be identified?
Yes. The statement must give the amount and name of all deductions.
Does the statute provide a right to request old pay statements?
Sections 3-504 and 3-507.3 do not state a historical-copy request procedure, response deadline, copy fee, former-employee right, or statement-retention period.
Statutes and sources
- Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. §§ 3-501(b), 3-504(a)(2). Coverage, every-pay- period delivery, physical/online format, and required fields. Official text (accessed July 13, 2026).
- Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-507.3. Correction order, per-employee penalty, penalty factors, hearing request, and compliance deadline. Official enacted text (accessed July 13, 2026).
- Maryland Department of Labor, Pay Statement Template Instructions. Current implementation guidance and optional template. Agency guidance (accessed July 13, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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