07-05-2018
Beginning on October 1, 2018, Maryland employers with 50 or more employees must report sexual harassment issues to the state.Specifically, the law requires those employers notify the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights of the following information via electronic filing:
- the number of its sexual harassment settlements,
- how many settlements the company entered into for the same harasser over a 10-year period,
- how many settlements involved confidentiality provisions, and
- whether any personnel action was taken against the alleged harasser.
The submissions must be filed before July 1, 2020, and before July 1, 2022. The reporting requirement ends June 30, 2023.
The new law requires that the aggregate data of the above be posted on the Commission’s website, with the public allowed to see responses from specific employers regarding how many times an employer paid settlements per harasser. Moreover, going forward, arbitration requirements for sexual harassment claims are not permitted. That provision does not have an end date.