Maryland’s Laws for Seasonal Agricultural Employment and Winter Layoffs
- Nicole Cook
- Jul 29
- 3 min read
By Samantha Capaldo and Nicole Cook
This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy.
Employment, on many farms, is seasonal in nature. Because of this, agricultural employers and employees frequently ask questions about winter layoffs and unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. In general, seasonal agricultural employees are eligible for unemployment benefits when they are laid off in the winter and the farm can rehire the same workers in the spring. Keep reading for an overview of unemployment insurance in agriculture and eligibility for employees laid off during the winter months.
Which Agricultural Employers are Covered?
Maryland follows the federal unemployment tax liability rules for agricultural employers, which are outlined in § 8-207 of the Maryland Labor Code. Agricultural employers must pay unemployment insurance taxes to the state if they meet one of the following criteria:
If the employer paid cash wages of $20,000 to individuals performing agricultural work during a calendar quarter of the current or preceding calendar year, OR
If the employer employes at least 10 individuals in agricultural work for a part of a day in each of 20 consecutive or nonconsecutive weeks during the current or preceding calendar year.
If you meet at least one of the criteria, you must register for a Maryland UI employer account, file quarterly wage reports, pay UI contributions, and comply with new-hire and rehire reporting requirements. However, if you do not meet one of the criteria and still want your seasonal workers protected by unemployment insurance, you can voluntarily elect coverage.
When are Employees Eligible?
To be eligible for unemployment benefits in Maryland, the employee must have been laid off through no fault of their own, have earned sufficient wages in covered employment during the base period, and meet ongoing weekly requirements. Weekly requirements include:
You must be able and available to work during every week you are claiming benefits;
You must be actively searching for work, unless an exception applies;
You must file a weekly claim certification through BEACON, the mobile app, or by telephone; and
If you are offered suitable work, you must accept the offer, unless you refuse for good cause, which is determined by the Maryland Division of Unemployment.
There are two exceptions to the “actively searching for work” requirement in Maryland. For temporary layoffs lasting ten weeks or less, workers are exempt from the requirement to actively search for work if the employer provides a definite return-to-work date within the ten-week period. For longer layoffs, between eleven and twenty-six weeks, with a definite return-to-work date, the employer and employee can both request an exemption from the requirement to actively search for work from the Maryland Labor Secretary, as long as the layoff is not due to vacation, inventory, or a labor dispute.
Recordkeeping
Agricultural employers may lay off seasonal workers at the end of the growing or harvesting season, when there is no longer work available on the farm. It is important to report the layoff as seasonal or end-of-season and include the last day worked, to ensure proper coding for unemployment insurance purposes. The same workers may be re-hired at the start of the next planting or growing season. If an employer intends to rehire the same employee, they should record and provide the layoff date and recall date to the employee applying for unemployment insurance benefits. When a former seasonal employee is rehired, the employer must follow the same reporting rules for new hires, including reporting the hire to the Maryland State Directory of New Hires within twenty days of the employee’s first day working. Once employees are rehired, employers must resume including the employee’s wages in their quarterly unemployment insurance wage report.
Resources
The Maryland Department of Labor provides unemployment resources for new employers and for employees/claimants.