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Maryland Code, Labor and Employment § 7-101

Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a) In this title the following words have the meanings indicated.

(b) “Agricultural operation” means:

(1) a person:

(i) who performs a farm labor contracting service; and

(ii) who:

1. owns or operates a farm;

2. owns or operates a cannery, packing shed, or other processing establishment; or

3. produces or conditions seed; or

(2) a nonprofit or cooperative association that:

(i) performs a farm labor contracting service;

(ii) consists of owners or operators of farms; and

(iii) is incorporated or qualified under the laws of the State.

(c) “Agricultural work” means employment:

(1) on a farm, in any activity that relates to the maintenance, management, or operation of the farm or its tools or other equipment, including cultivation of soil, raising of bees, or the growing, harvesting, or producing of an agricultural or horticultural commodity; or

(2) by the owner or operator of a farm, to dry, to freeze, to grade, to pack, to package, to plant, to process, or otherwise to handle an agricultural or horticultural commodity in its unmanufactured state before delivery for storage.

(d) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Labor and Industry.

(e)(1) “Farm” means an area that is used primarily to raise an agricultural or horticultural commodity.

(2) “Farm” includes:

(i) a dairy farm;

(ii) a fruit farm;

(iii) a furbearing animal farm;

(iv) a greenhouse;

(v) a nursery;

(vi) an orchard;

(vii) a poultry farm;

(viii) a ranch;

(ix) a stock farm; and

(x) a truck farm.

(f) “Farm labor contractor” means a person, other than an agricultural operation or an employee of an agricultural operation, who performs a farm labor contracting service for consideration.

(g) “License” means a license issued by the Commissioner to perform farm labor contracting services for consideration.

(h) “Licensed farm labor contractor” means an individual who is licensed by the Commissioner to perform farm labor contracting services for consideration.

(i)(1) “Migrant agricultural worker” means, except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, an individual who:

(i) is employed to perform agricultural work of a seasonal or other temporary nature; and

(ii) in the course of employment:

1. is absent overnight from the permanent place of residence of the individual; or

2. as part of a day-haul operation, is transported or caused to be transported by a farm labor contractor or an agent of a farm labor contractor to or from the place of employment.

(2) “Migrant agricultural worker” does not include:

(i) an immediate family member of the owner or operator of a farm or a cannery, packing shed, or other processing establishment;

(ii) an immediate family member of an individual who produces or conditions seeds;

(iii) an immediate family member of a farm labor contractor; or

(iv) a nonimmigrant alien, as defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a), who is authorized under federal law to work in agricultural employment in the United States.

(j) “Perform a farm labor contracting service” means to recruit, to employ, to hire, to provide, to solicit, to transport, or to provide housing for a migrant agricultural worker.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Maryland Code, Labor and Employment § 7-101 - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/md/labor-and-employment/md-code-labor-and-emply-sect-7-101/

FindLaw Codes may not reflect the most recent version of the law in your jurisdiction. Please verify the status of the code you are researching with the state legislature before relying on it for your legal needs.

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