Baltimore's Living Wage Ordinance (Article 5 §26) requires service contractors with city contracts above $5,000 to pay covered employees a wage indexed annually, exceeding Maryland's $15 statewide minimum.
Under Baltimore City Code Article 5, Subtitle 26, contractors and subcontractors providing services to Baltimore under contracts valued at $5,000 or more must pay covered employees a living wage set annually by the Baltimore Wage Commission. The rate, recalculated each July, exceeds Maryland's $15 statewide minimum (MD §3-413, effective 2024). Hotel and hospitality contractors performing convention center, BCRP, or city-funded services fall in scope. Contractors must post the rate, submit certified payrolls, and allow Wage Commission audits. The ordinance does not bind private hotel operators absent a city contract.
Wage shortfalls trigger back-pay restitution plus fines up to $500 per employee per pay period, contract debarment for up to three years, and Wage Commission enforcement actions.
Baltimore, MD
Baltimore imposes a 9.5% city hotel occupancy tax on rooms rented under 90 days, stacked on Maryland's 6% sales tax for an effective 15.5% combined hotel rate.
Baltimore, MD
Baltimore lacks a citywide hotel worker retention ordinance comparable to Los Angeles. Successor employers follow Maryland labor norms, and unionized hotels ...
Baltimore, MD
Maryland's statewide minimum wage reached $15 per hour on January 1, 2024 (MD §3-413). Baltimore's earlier attempt to pass a city wage was largely superseded...
See how Baltimore's hotel living wage rules stack up against other locations.
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