The States

Maryland

Name: Maryland: governmental orders, March 2020 through September 2021
Creator: The COVID Project

The Maryland file holds 86 instruments from the State's governor, health authorities, courts and agencies, 86 of them with the exhibit file held by The COVID Project. 335 records in the Library resolve to Maryland in all, counting its metros, the agency clusters and the standing duties.

Code MDFirst closure or stay-at-home order Mar. 12, 2020 Ex. MD-002End of general restrictions July 1, 2021Orders reaching 2021 Q3 24Primary source read 83 Confirmed from a secondary source 3

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The record in brief

Maryland ran one of the most tightly drafted and longest-lived State regimes in the country, built on a single chain of gubernatorial orders under Title 14 of the Public Safety Article (the Maryland Emergency Management Agency Act, Pub. Safety 14-107 and 14-303, and the catastrophic health emergency powers, Pub. Safety 14-3A-01 et seq.), each carrying the same enforcement clause: every State and local law enforcement officer shall execute and enforce the order, and a knowing and willful violation is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment up to one year or a fine up to $5,000 or both (Pub. Safety 14-114(d), recited in every order). Governor Hogan proclaimed a state of emergency and catastrophic health emergency on March 5, 2020 (Ex. MD-001) and renewed it every thirty days through June 2021 (Exs. MD-032, MD-075, MD-074, MD-071). The March 12, 2020 order prohibited gatherings over 250 and closed senior centers (MD-002); the March 16 restatement cut gatherings to 50 and closed restaurants and bars, fitness centers and theaters to the public at 5:00 p.m. that day (MD-003); the March 19 restatement (20-03-19-01) cut gatherings to 10 and closed enclosed malls and recreational establishments (MD-004); the March 23 restatement (20-03-23-01) closed every business not in a CISA critical infrastructure sector to the general public, subject only to Minimal Operations (MD-005, with the Office of Legal Counsel's sector list, MD-006); and the March 30 Stay-at-Home Order (20-03-30-01) ordered all persons living in Maryland to stay in their homes from 8:00 p.m. March 30, 2020 except for enumerated Essential Activities (MD-007). Casinos and racetracks were closed from 12:01 a.m. March 16, 2020 (MD-035), child care was closed to all but Essential Persons (MD-033, MD-034), every public school was closed by the State Superintendent from March 16, 2020 through the end of the 2019-20 year (MD-099), the courts closed to the public from March 16, 2020 and suspended jury trials (MD-080 to MD-084), and the Secretary of Health ordered every licensed health care facility and every practitioner to cease all elective and non-urgent procedures at 5:00 p.m. March 24, 2020 (MD-040). Face coverings were required in retail, foodservice and public transportation from 7:00 a.m. April 18, 2020 (MD-008). The second quarter of 2020 therefore opened under a stay-at-home order, a general closure of non-essential business, a ten-person gathering cap, a school and child care closure, an elective-procedure ban and closed courts. Reopening came in stages tied to capacity percentages and an express grant of authority to counties and Baltimore City to be stricter: outdoor recreation and elective procedures from May 7, 2020 (MD-009, MD-044); Stage One at 5:00 p.m. May 15, 2020 (stay-at-home lifted; religious facilities and retail at 50 percent; manufacturing; hair salons and barbers by appointment at 50 percent; restaurants still carry-out only; gatherings over 10 still prohibited) (MD-010); outdoor dining from 5:00 p.m. May 29 (MD-011); Stage Two at 5:00 p.m. June 5, 2020, when all remaining non-critical-infrastructure businesses could open and other personal services resumed by appointment (MD-012); indoor dining at 50 percent from 5:00 p.m. June 12 and fitness centers, malls, casinos and indoor recreation at 50 percent from 5:00 p.m. June 19 (MD-013, MD-045, MD-046). On July 29, 2020 the face-covering order was expanded to all indoor public spaces, shared work areas and outdoors where distancing was not possible, effective 5:00 p.m. July 31 (MD-014). Stage Three on September 1, 2020 (effective September 4) moved religious facilities and retail to 75 percent and opened indoor theaters and outdoor venues at 50 percent with numeric caps (MD-016); indoor dining went to 75 percent from September 21 (MD-017, MD-047); outdoor sporting venues opened at 10 percent from October 16 (MD-019). Every reopening order kept the 50 percent caps on personal services, fitness, gaming and indoor recreation, the seated-service and six-foot distancing directives of the Secretary of Health, and the general face-covering rule; every order authorized counties to impose stricter Local Orders. The winter 2020-21 re-tightening began November 10, 2020 (indoor dining back to 50 percent; State agencies returned to telework) (MD-020, MD-048) and November 17, 2020 (effective 5:00 p.m. November 20: bars and restaurants closed to the public from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.; retail, religious facilities and all other Facilities capped at 50 percent; MDH ordered indoor sports facilities to 50 percent and hospital visitation suspended) (MD-021, MD-049, MD-050); the Judiciary re-imposed the jury-trial suspension from November 16, 2020 and returned to Phase II operations from November 30 (MD-086, MD-087); and on December 17, 2020 the Governor authorized and the Secretary ordered COVID-19 testing or quarantine for every traveler entering Maryland from any State other than the District, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia (MD-023, MD-050). The curfew ended February 1, 2021 (MD-024); the 50 percent caps on most facilities ended at 5:00 p.m. March 12, 2021, when the Governor also terminated the counties' authority to issue stricter Local Orders under the reopening chain while preserving county health officers' closure orders (MD-026); convention, banquet and venue capacity, seated-only service and universal indoor masking continued; the outdoor mask rule ended April 28, 2021 (MD-028); all capacity limits ended and the mask order narrowed to transit, health care and schools at 12:01 a.m. May 15, 2021 (MD-095, MD-030). Order 21-06-15-01 terminated the remaining mask, travel, child care, alcohol and State-employee orders at 12:01 a.m. July 1, 2021 and the nursing home, health care, eviction, notarization and licensing orders at 11:59 p.m. August 15, 2021, when the state of emergency itself ended (MD-031, MD-073, MD-076). The third quarter of 2021 was not a quarter without orders: the state of emergency and fourteen emergency orders ran to August 15; the Secretary of Health's June 15, 2021 hospital surge and nursing home orders ran all quarter (MD-055, MD-056); the August 5 and August 18, 2021 orders required every staff member of every Maryland hospital and nursing home and of 48 State congregate facilities to show proof of a first vaccine dose by September 1, 2021 or submit to weekly testing (MD-057 to MD-061); the Judiciary re-imposed courthouse masking from August 9, 2021 and required proof of vaccination or weekly testing of all Judiciary personnel from September 27, 2021 (MD-090 to MD-092); and the federal transit mask order and the OSHA Healthcare ETS applied by the Secretary's own July 1, 2021 notice (MD-094).

The six quarters

What the record shows in force in Maryland on the first day and the last day of each quarter. Every exhibit named here opens its record. The orders of March 13 to 31, 2020 belong to the second quarter of 2020, because wages paid after March 12, 2020 fall in that quarter.

Quarter	First day	Last day
2020 Q2Second quarter of 2020The quarter nationally →	Apr. 1, 2020: Stay-at-Home Order 20-03-30-01 in force (all persons ordered to stay home except Essential Activities; all Non-Essential Businesses closed to the public; gatherings over 10 prohibited; restaurants and bars carry-out only; fitness centers, theaters, malls, recreational establishments, casinos, senior centers closed) (MD-007, MD-035); child care closed to all but Essential Persons (MD-034); public schools closed (MD-099); elective and non-urgent procedures prohibited statewide (MD-040); courts closed to the public, jury trials suspended, foreclosures and evictions suspended (MD-081 to MD-084); eviction moratorium (MD-038); State employees at Elevated Level II telework and leave (MD-096); state of emergency renewed Mar. 17, 2020 (MD-032).	June 30, 2020: Stage Two order 20-06-10-01 in force (religious facilities, retail, personal services, fitness centers, gaming, indoor recreation and indoor dining all capped at 50 percent; outdoor dining; gatherings over 10 still prohibited for social, community, recreational, leisure and sporting events; theaters and senior centers closed; Local Orders authorized) (MD-013); face coverings required in retail, foodservice, personal services and public transportation (MD-008, MD-010); MDH food service and gatherings directives (six-foot distancing, staff masks, 'Convention events are prohibited until further notice') (MD-045, MD-046); Judiciary in Phase II (clerks' offices closed to the public) (MD-085); schools closed for the remainder of the 2019-20 year (MD-099); nursing home universal testing and visitation orders (MD-043); state of emergency renewed June 3, 2020.
2020 Q3Third quarter of 2020The quarter nationally →	July 1, 2020: 20-06-10-01 regime (50 percent caps on religious, retail, personal services, fitness, gaming, indoor recreation and indoor dining; theaters closed; gatherings over 10 prohibited; face coverings in retail, foodservice, personal services and transit) (MD-013, MD-008); MDH food service and gatherings directives (MD-045, MD-046); Judiciary Phase II (MD-085); state of emergency renewed July 1, 2020.	Sept. 30, 2020: Stage Three order 20-09-28-01 (religious facilities and retail 75 percent; indoor dining 75 percent from Sept. 21; personal services, fitness, gaming, indoor recreation 50 percent; indoor theaters and outdoor venues 50 percent with numeric caps; senior centers closed; general face-covering rule of 20-07-29-01 for all persons over five indoors, in shared work areas and outdoors when unable to distance; Local Orders authorized) (MD-018, MD-014, MD-016, MD-017, MD-047); Judiciary Phase IV (jury trials resumed Oct. 5) (MD-085); state of emergency renewed Sept. 8, 2020.
2020 Q4Fourth quarter of 2020The quarter nationally →	Oct. 1, 2020: 20-09-28-01 regime as above (MD-018); face coverings general (MD-014); MDH food service 75 percent, distancing and staff masks (MD-047); state of emergency renewed Oct. 6, 2020.	Dec. 31, 2020: winter regime of 20-11-17-01, effective 5:00 p.m. Nov. 20, 2020 (bars and restaurants closed to the public 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.; retail, religious facilities, personal services, fitness, gaming, indoor recreation, theaters and venues at 50 percent; indoor dining 50 percent; face coverings general) (MD-021, MD-048, MD-049); traveler testing or quarantine for arrivals from all but five neighboring jurisdictions under 20-12-17-01 and MDH 2020-12-17-01 (MD-023, MD-050); hospital visitation suspended and hospital surge orders (MD-050); jury trials suspended, Judiciary in Phase II from Nov. 30 (MD-086, MD-087); state of emergency renewed Dec. 23, 2020.
2021 Q1First quarter of 2021The quarter nationally →	Jan. 1, 2021: 20-11-17-01 winter regime (10:00 p.m. closing; 50 percent caps; general face coverings) (MD-021); traveler testing/quarantine mandatory to Jan. 31, 2021 (MD-050); Judiciary Phase II, jury trials suspended (MD-087); state of emergency renewed Dec. 23, 2020 and Jan. 21, 2021 (MD-075).	Mar. 31, 2021: 21-03-09-01 in force (capacity limits lifted at 5:00 p.m. Mar. 12, 2021 for religious, retail, personal services, indoor recreation, bars and restaurants, fitness, gaming and racing; 50 percent cap continues for convention and banquet facilities, indoor venues and outdoor venues; foodservice seated only; universal indoor and outdoor face-covering rule; county health officer orders under 20-04-05-02 still binding; para. I.d Local Orders void) (MD-026); MDH General Directives 2021-03-09-01 (six-foot distancing, seated service, medical adult day care conditions) (MD-051); Judiciary Phase IV from Mar. 15, 2021 (MD-088); state of emergency renewed Mar. 18, 2021.
2021 Q2Second quarter of 2021The quarter nationally →	Apr. 1, 2021: 21-03-09-01 regime (venue caps 50 percent; seated service; universal face coverings indoors and outdoors where unable to distance) (MD-026, MD-051); Judiciary Phase IV (MD-088); state of emergency renewed Mar. 18 and Apr. 16, 2021 (MD-074).	June 30, 2021: 21-05-14-01 in force (face coverings required on public transportation and school buses, when obtaining health care, and indoors in schools; all capacity limits lifted May 15, 2021) (MD-030, MD-095); MDH 2021-05-14-01 (face coverings in listed facilities, medical adult day care conditions) (MD-054); 21-06-15-01 issued June 15, 2021 with July 1 and Aug. 15 termination dates (MD-031); MDH 2021-06-15-03 and -04 (hospital surge; nursing homes) (MD-055, MD-056); Judiciary Phase V from June 1, 2021 with continuing health measures (MD-089); traveler, child care, alcohol, eviction and health care orders still in force; state of emergency renewed June 12, 2021 (MD-071).
2021 Q3Third quarter of 2021The quarter nationally →	July 1, 2021: the state of emergency and catastrophic health emergency in force to Aug. 15, 2021; the fourteen grace-period orders (nursing homes 20-04-29-01; health care matters 21-03-09-02; evictions and foreclosures 20-12-17-02; alternate care sites; vaccine reporting; remote notarization and witnessing; MIA video hearings; licenses and time frames; MVA licenses; Comptroller and nursing license extensions) (MD-031, MD-073); MDH 2021-06-15-03 hospital surge and testing order and MDH 2021-06-15-04 nursing home order (MD-055, MD-056); Judiciary Phase V order effective June 1, 2021 (MD-089); MDH Notice of July 1, 2021 recommending face coverings and reciting that the federal transit mask order and OSHA Healthcare ETS remain in effect (MD-094).	Sept. 30, 2021: MDH 2021-06-15-03 (hospital surge and testing) (MD-055); MDH 2021-09-08-02 nursing home order (screening of all entrants, staff testing per CMS, weekly reporting, visitation, resident vaccination) (MD-061); MDH 2021-09-08-01 vaccination order (proof of first dose by Sept. 1, 2021 or weekly testing and PPE for all staff of hospitals, nursing homes, State congregate facilities and assisted living programs) (MD-060, MD-058, MD-057); Judiciary Phase V with mandatory courthouse masking in every jurisdiction at CDC substantial or high transmission (all 24 by Aug. 19, 2021) and vaccination-or-weekly-testing for Judiciary personnel from Sept. 27, 2021 (MD-090, MD-091, MD-092); local mask orders in the Washington suburbs and Baltimore (metro files).

The end of general restrictions

The day the general business restrictions ended in Maryland, the instrument that ended them, and what the record shows still in force afterward. The end of the general orders is not the end of the record: sector rules, standing duties and the federal layer continue past it.

End of general restrictions

July 1, 2021

2021-07-01 (12:01 a.m.) for the mask, traveler testing and quarantine, child care, alcohol and State-employee orders; 2021-08-15 (11:59 p.m.) for the nursing home, health care matters, eviction and foreclosure, remote notarization, MIA hearings, MVA license and licensing time-frame orders and the state of emergency itself

Instrument Order of the Governor No. 21-06-15-01, Terminating Various Emergency Orders (June 15, 2021) (Ex. MD-031), following No. 21-05-12-01 (capacity limits lifted, Ex. MD-095) and No. 21-05-14-01 (mask order narrowed to transit, health care and schools, effective 12:01 a.m. May 15, 2021, Ex. MD-030)

What remained in force

July 1 to August 15, 2021: the state of emergency and catastrophic health emergency; Order 20-04-29-01 (nursing homes) and the Secretary's nursing home directives; Order 21-03-09-02 (health care matters); Order 20-12-17-02 (evictions, repossessions, foreclosures, commercial evictions); Order 20-11-17-02 (alternate care sites); 21-01-05-01 (vaccine administration reporting); 20-09-29-01 and 20-04-10-01 (remote notarization and witnessing); 20-09-29-02 (MIA video hearings); 21-03-09-03 (licenses and legal time frames); 21-05-13-01 (MVA licenses); 21-06-15-02 and -03 (Comptroller time frames; nursing license extension) (Exs. MD-031, MD-073). After August 15, 2021 and through September 30, 2021: MDH Order 2021-06-15-03 (hospital surge capacity, testing and reporting, to Dec. 31, 2021) (MD-055); MDH nursing home orders 2021-06-15-04, 2021-08-18-02 and 2021-09-08-02 (screening of all entrants, CMS-standard staff testing, weekly reporting, visitation per QSO-20-39-NH, resident vaccination) (MD-056, MD-059, MD-061); MDH vaccination orders 2021-08-05-01, 2021-08-18-01 and 2021-09-08-01 (first dose by Sept. 1, 2021 or weekly testing and PPE for staff of hospitals, nursing homes, State congregate facilities and, from Sept. 8, assisted living programs) (MD-057, MD-058, MD-060); the Judiciary's Phase V order with courthouse masking and vaccination-or-testing orders (MD-090 to MD-092); the CDC conveyance mask order on all public transportation including school buses and the OSHA Healthcare ETS, as the Secretary's July 1, 2021 Notice itself recites (MD-094); and the county and Baltimore City mask orders of August 2021 (metro files DCM and BAL).

Preemption of local orders

Maryland never preempted or barred local orders; it did the opposite. From the first reopening order the Governor expressly authorized stricter local action: 'If a political subdivision determines that doing so is necessary and reasonable to save lives or prevent exposure to COVID-19, the political subdivision is hereby authorized to issue orders that are more restrictive than this Order ("Local Orders"): i. requiring any businesses, organizations, establishments, or facilities to close or modify their operations; and/or ii. requiring individuals to remain indoors or to refrain from congregating' (Order 20-05-13-01 para. I.d, Ex. MD-010, carried in every restatement through 21-02-23-01), and every order made 'any Local Order' enforceable by every State and local law enforcement officer under the same misdemeanor penalty (para. V or VI). Order 20-04-05-02 (Apr. 5, 2020, Ex. MD-039) separately delegated to every county health officer and the Baltimore City Commissioner of Health the power to order any business, facility or construction site to modify its operations or to close it as an 'Unsafe Facility', 'even if the Unsafe Facility would otherwise be permitted to remain open (to any degree)' under the Governor's orders. Montgomery County, Prince George's County and Baltimore City used the para. I.d authority to delay every reopening stage in 2020 and early 2021 (metro files DCM and BAL). Order 21-03-09-01 para. I.e (Ex. MD-026) provided that the para. I.d authority 'shall cease to be effective at 5:00 p.m. on March 12, 2021, at which time all Local Orders issued pursuant to paragraph I.d above shall become null and void', while para. III.d.ii required all persons to comply with orders of the county health officer under 20-04-05-02; Order 21-05-14-01 para. IV.b (Ex. MD-030) rescinded 20-04-05-02 effective May 15, 2021. Local governments' own charter and public-health powers were never displaced, and the August 2021 indoor mask orders of Montgomery County (Aug. 7), Prince George's County (Aug. 8) and Baltimore City (Aug. 9, 2021) issued under local authority; those instruments belong to the DCM and BAL metro files.

Third quarter of 2021

July 1 through September 30, 2021, the last claimable quarter: the instruments the record shows in force in Maryland. An order in force on any day of the quarter is an order in force during it. The quarter nationally →

In force (18)

MD-031 (Order 21-06-15-01: the state of emergency and the fourteen section II orders in force to 11:59 p.m. Aug. 15, 2021)
MD-043 (Order 20-04-29-01, nursing homes, to Aug. 15, 2021)
MD-027 (Order 21-03-09-02, health care matters, to Aug. 15, 2021)
MD-055 (MDH 2021-06-15-03, hospital surge capacity, testing and reporting, all quarter)
MD-056 (MDH 2021-06-15-04, nursing homes, July 1 to Aug. 18, 2021)
MD-057 (MDH 2021-08-05-01, State congregate facilities: first dose by Sept. 1, 2021 or weekly testing)
MD-058 (MDH 2021-08-18-01, hospitals and nursing homes: all staff first dose by Sept. 1, 2021 or weekly testing and PPE)
MD-059 (MDH 2021-08-18-02, nursing homes, Aug. 18 to Sept. 8, 2021)
MD-060 (MDH 2021-09-08-01, vaccination matters, adds assisted living programs, from Sept. 8, 2021)
MD-061 (MDH 2021-09-08-02, nursing homes, from Sept. 8, 2021)
MD-089 (Judiciary Second Amended Order Expanding Operations, Phase V effective June 1, 2021, to Aug. 8, 2021)
MD-090 (Judiciary Third Amended Order Expanding Operations, effective Aug. 9, 2021)
MD-091 (Judiciary Ninth Order Clarifying Health Measures: mandatory masks in courthouses in substantial/high transmission jurisdictions, effective Aug. 9, 2021)
MD-092 (Judiciary vaccination-or-weekly-testing order for all Judiciary personnel, Aug. 20, 2021, deadline Sept. 27, 2021)
MD-094 (MDH Notice July 1, 2021 reciting that the federal public transportation mask order, including school buses, and the OSHA Healthcare ETS remain in effect)
Federal layer applying in Maryland: CDC conveyance order 86 Fed. Reg. 8025; TSA security directives; OSHA Healthcare ETS 29 C.F.R. 1910.502 (FED files)
Cite only after verification
County and Baltimore City indoor mask orders of Aug. 7-9, 2021 (metro files DCM and BAL)

Sector chronology

How the orders reached each kind of business in Maryland, sector by sector, in the order the record gives. Open a sector to read its chronology; every exhibit named opens its record.

Restaurants and bars

Closed to the public except carry-out, drive-through and delivery from 5:00 p.m. Mar. 16, 2020 (MD-003); outdoor seating from 5:00 p.m. May 29, 2020 (MD-011); indoor at 50 percent with six-foot distancing, staff and customer masks from 5:00 p.m. June 12, 2020 (MD-013, MD-045); 75 percent from 5:00 p.m. Sept. 21, 2020 (MD-017, MD-047); back to 50 percent Nov. 10, 2020 (MD-020, MD-048); closed 10:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m. from 5:00 p.m. Nov. 20, 2020 to 12:01 a.m. Feb. 1, 2021 (MD-021, MD-024); capacity limit lifted 5:00 p.m. Mar. 12, 2021 but seated service only and distancing (MD-026, MD-051, MD-052); all limits lifted May 15, 2021 (MD-095); alcohol carry-out and delivery authorizations 20-03-19-02 and 20-05-29-01 to July 1, 2021 (MD-036, MD-037, MD-031).

Retail

Non-essential retail closed to the public from 5:00 p.m. Mar. 23, 2020, delivery sales only (MD-005, MD-007); enclosed malls closed from 5:00 p.m. Mar. 19, 2020 (MD-004); face coverings for customers and staff from 7:00 a.m. Apr. 18, 2020 (MD-008); reopened at 50 percent from 5:00 p.m. May 15, 2020 (MD-010); malls from 5:00 p.m. June 19, 2020 (MD-013); 75 percent from Sept. 4, 2020 (MD-016); 50 percent from Nov. 20, 2020 (MD-021); limit lifted Mar. 12, 2021 (MD-026); masks to May 15, 2021 (MD-030).

Personal care

Salons, barbers, spas closed as Non-Essential Businesses from 5:00 p.m. Mar. 23, 2020 (MD-005); hair services and barbers by appointment only at 50 percent with masks from 5:00 p.m. May 15, 2020 (MD-010); nail salons, massage, tanning, tattoo and other personal services by appointment at 50 percent from 5:00 p.m. June 5, 2020 (MD-012); 50 percent cap maintained through every restatement to Mar. 12, 2021 (MD-016, MD-021, MD-026); cleaning directives (MD-051).

Fitness and entertainment

Fitness centers, theaters closed 5:00 p.m. Mar. 16, 2020 (MD-003); bingo halls, bowling alleys, pool halls, amusement parks, rinks closed Mar. 19, 2020 (MD-004); casinos, racetracks and simulcast betting closed 12:01 a.m. Mar. 16, 2020 (MD-035); fitness, gaming, indoor recreation reopened at 50 percent from 5:00 p.m. June 19, 2020 (MD-013); indoor theaters 50 percent/100 persons and outdoor venues 50 percent/250 persons from Sept. 4, 2020 (MD-016); outdoor sporting venues 10 percent from Oct. 16, 2020 (MD-019); 50 percent and spectator limits Nov. 20, 2020 (MD-021, MD-049); fitness/gaming/indoor recreation limit lifted Mar. 12, 2021, venues 50 percent to May 15, 2021 (MD-026, MD-095).

Hotels and short-term rentals

Lodging listed as critical infrastructure and not closed (MD-006); hotel ballrooms defined as Convention and Banquet Facilities capped at 50 percent and food service subject to the foodservice rules through May 15, 2021 (MD-026, MD-095); traveler testing or quarantine for arriving guests Dec. 17, 2020 to Jan. 31, 2021 (MD-050).

Offices and telework

All non-critical-infrastructure workplaces closed to the public from 5:00 p.m. Mar. 23, 2020 with on-site presence limited to Minimal Operations, the first of which is 'Facilitating remote working (a/k/a/ telework) by other staff' (MD-005, MD-007 para. IV.c); OLC guidance: 'employers are urged to promote work-from-home arrangements to the greatest extent possible' (MD-006); Executive Branch State employees placed at Elevated Level II attendance and leave (telework) from Mar. 12, 2020 to July 1, 2021 (MD-096, MD-031); offices reopened 5:00 p.m. June 5, 2020 (MD-012); face coverings required 'engaged in work in any area where interaction with others is likely, including without limitation, in shared areas of commercial offices' from July 31, 2020 to May 15, 2021 (MD-014, MD-026, MD-095); State agencies returned to mandatory telework Nov. 10, 2020 (Governor's announcement; secondary).

Manufacturing

Manufacturing outside the CISA critical manufacturing sector closed to the public as Non-Essential Business from 5:00 p.m. Mar. 23, 2020 with Minimal Operations only (MD-005, MD-006, MD-007); 'all manufacturing businesses and facilities in the State of Maryland may open' from 5:00 p.m. May 15, 2020 (MD-010); face coverings where interaction likely or food prepared or packaged from July 31, 2020 to May 15, 2021 (MD-014, MD-026).

Construction

Commercial and residential construction companies listed as critical infrastructure (Commercial Facilities Sector) and not required to close (MD-006); construction sites subject to county health officer closure as Unsafe Facilities from Apr. 5, 2020 to May 15, 2021 (MD-039); face coverings at work where interaction likely from July 31, 2020 (MD-014); Stay-at-Home travel limits on workers and customers Mar. 30-May 15, 2020 (MD-007).

Real estate

Showings and offices subject to the Non-Essential Business closure Mar. 23-June 5, 2020 (MD-005, MD-012); remote notarization authorized Mar. 30, 2020 and amended Sept. 29, 2020 (20-09-29-01; to Aug. 15, 2021) (MD-031); residential evictions of tenants with substantial loss of income barred from Mar. 16, 2020 and, as amended Dec. 17, 2020, repossessions, residential foreclosure initiation and commercial evictions restricted to Aug. 15, 2021 (MD-038, MD-031 II.b); Judiciary suspension of foreclosures, evictions and ejectments from Mar. 25, 2020 with staged lifting (MD-083).

Hospitals and long-term care

MDH directives Mar. 23, 2020 (reporting, surge, elective procedures) (MD-040); nursing home orders Apr. 5 and Apr. 29, 2020 (screening, PPE, cohorting, universal testing) (MD-042, MD-043); hospital visitation suspended and surge transfers Nov.-Dec. 2020 (MD-050); June 15, 2021 hospital surge order (10 percent staffed-bed surge plans, testing, reporting; to Dec. 31, 2021) (MD-055); nursing home orders June 15, Aug. 18 and Sept. 8, 2021 (MD-056, MD-059, MD-061); staff vaccination: first dose by Sept. 1, 2021 or weekly testing and PPE for all hospital and nursing home staff (MD-058), extended to assisted living Sept. 8, 2021 (MD-060).

Dental and elective health care

All elective and non-urgent medical procedures and appointments by every licensed facility and every practitioner under the Health Occupations Article ceased at 5:00 p.m. Mar. 24, 2020 (MDH Mar. 23, 2020 order, MD-040); resumption permitted 7:00 a.m. May 7, 2020 subject to PPE supply, distancing, face coverings and call-ahead registration conditions, with noncompliance punishable under Pub. Safety 14-3A-06 and Health-Gen. 18-907 (MD-044); Governor's health care matters order 20-03-16 and 21-03-09-02 (Secretary's authority over elective procedures, adult day care closure) to Aug. 15, 2021 (MD-070, MD-027, MD-031); face coverings mandatory when obtaining health care to July 1, 2021 (MD-030).

Schools

Fall 2020 reopening left to local systems under MSDE/MDH guidance; face coverings mandatory 'indoors in any portion of a School where interaction with others is likely' from Feb. 23, 2021 to July 1, 2021 (MD-025, MD-026, MD-030, MD-031); MDH/MSDE July 23, 2021 guidance 'strongly recommend, but do not require' masks (MD-093); school buses under the federal transit mask order all of 2021 (MD-094).

Child care

Governor's Mar. 13, 2020 order let the State Superintendent suspend child care regulations (MD-033); Order 20-03-25-01 authorized closure of all child care centers and homes and limited care to 'Essential Persons' (health care, public safety, government, insurance, food supply, transportation, critical infrastructure and others designated) (MD-034); Superintendent's implementing closure effective Mar. 27, 2020 (MSDE, secondary); reopened to all families June 2020 under MSDE recovery plan (MD-099); order rescinded July 1, 2021 (MD-031).

Worship and gatherings

Gatherings over 250 prohibited Mar. 12, 2020 (MD-002); over 50 Mar. 16 (MD-003); over 10 Mar. 19, 2020 through Stage Two (MD-004, MD-007, MD-010, MD-013); religious facilities may open at 50 percent from 5:00 p.m. May 15, 2020 (MD-010); 75 percent from Sept. 4, 2020 (MD-016); 50 percent from Nov. 20, 2020 (MD-021); limit lifted Mar. 12, 2021 (MD-026); MDH: 'Convention events are prohibited until further notice' (June 12, 2020, MD-046); convention and banquet facilities 50 percent to May 15, 2021 (MD-026, MD-095).

Courts and public offices

Jury trials suspended Mar. 16-Apr. 3, 2020 and extended (MD-080); all courts and clerks' offices closed to the public from Mar. 16, 2020 (MD-081, MD-082, MD-084); five-phase resumption: Phase II June 5, Phase III July 20, Phase IV Aug. 31, Phase V Oct. 5, 2020 (MD-085); jury trials re-suspended Nov. 16, 2020 and Phase II re-imposed Nov. 30, 2020 (MD-086, MD-087); Phase III Mar. 1 and Phase IV Mar. 15, 2021, jury trials resumed Apr. 26, 2021 (MD-088); Phase V June 1, 2021 (MD-089); courthouse masking re-imposed Aug. 9, 2021 (MD-091); Judiciary vaccination-or-testing Sept. 27, 2021 (MD-092); MVA license expirations extended to Aug. 15, 2021 (MD-098, MD-031).

Travel and quarantine

Stay-at-Home Order limited all travel to Essential Activities and work Mar. 30-May 15, 2020 (MD-007); Secretary's designation of local health officers to issue quarantine and isolation orders Mar. 21/27, 2020 (MD-041); MDH travel advisory July 29, 2020 (advisory); Order 20-12-17-01 authorized Travel Orders and MDH 2020-12-17-01 required a test within 72 hours or on arrival and quarantine pending results for all travelers into Maryland from any State other than DC, VA, PA, DE and WV, Dec. 17, 2020 to Jan. 31, 2021, then advisory (MD-023, MD-050); order rescinded July 1, 2021 (MD-031).

Face coverings

Retail, foodservice and public transportation from 7:00 a.m. Apr. 18, 2020 (MD-008); personal services from May 15, 2020 (MD-010); all persons over five indoors in public, at work where interaction likely or food prepared, obtaining health care, and outdoors when unable to keep six feet, from 5:00 p.m. July 31, 2020 (MD-014); schools added Feb. 23, 2021 (MD-025); outdoor rule removed Apr. 28, 2021 (MD-028); narrowed to transit, school buses, health care and schools 12:01 a.m. May 15, 2021 (MD-030); rescinded 12:01 a.m. July 1, 2021 (MD-031); MDH recommendation only from July 1, 2021 with federal transit order continuing (MD-094); courthouse masks re-imposed Aug. 9, 2021 (MD-091).

Vaccination mandates

MDH 2021-08-05-01: staff of State residential, correctional, juvenile and veterans facilities show proof of first dose by Sept. 1, 2021 or weekly testing and PPE (MD-057, announced MD-077); MDH 2021-08-18-01: all staff of every nursing home and hospital show proof of first dose by Sept. 1, 2021, facilities' own noncompliance procedures 'cannot be less stringent' than weekly testing and PPE, 'administrative and criminal sanctions' (MD-058); MDH 2021-09-08-01 adds assisted living programs (MD-060); Judiciary personnel proof of vaccination by Sept. 27, 2021 or weekly negative test to enter any Judiciary facility (MD-092).

Standing duties

The statutes, codes and penalty provisions of Maryland that stood before March 2020 and ran through every claimable quarter. They are the reason nothing an employer did under the orders was voluntary. Read the Maryland duties →

Maryland governed the pandemic under a Proclamation of a State of Emergency and Catastrophic Health Emergency issued March 5, 2020 under Title 14 of the Public Safety Article (Ex. MD-001), renewed every thirty days, and terminated, with the last fourteen orders, at 11:59 p.m. on August 15, 2021 (Exs. MD-031, MD-073). Two penalty statutes stood behind every order in the Maryland file. Public Safety section 14-114 provides that 'a person may not violate an order, rule, or regulation issued under the authority of this subtitle,' a misdemeanor punishable by six months or $1,000 and, when willful, by one year or $5,000 (Ex. DUT-MD-006); Public Safety section 14-3A-08 provides that 'a person may not knowingly and willfully fail to comply with an order, requirement, or directive issued under this subtitle,' punishable by one year or $5,000 (Ex. DUT-MD-008). Every Order of the Governor recited the second penalty in terms and commanded that 'each law enforcement officer of the State or a political subdivision shall execute and enforce this Order' (Ex. MD-014 para. VII). The Governor's substantive power came from Public Safety section 14-107(d) (control of 'ingress to and egress from an emergency area, the movement of individuals in the area, and the occupancy of premises in the area') (Ex. DUT-MD-005) and section 14-3A-03(d) ('the Governor may order the evacuation, closing, or decontamination of any facility' and 'may order individuals to remain indoors or refrain from congregating') (Ex. DUT-MD-007); the United States District Court for the District of Maryland identified section 14-3A-03 as the source of the closure, gathering and face-covering orders and refused to enjoin them (Ex. DUT-MD-017 at 5, 32). The Secretary of Health's Directives and Orders rested on Health-General section 18-102, which commands that the Secretary 'shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to prevent... the spread of an infectious or contagious disease' and, when such a disease exists, 'shall... act properly to prevent the spread of the disease' (Ex. DUT-MD-001); Health-General section 18-208 imposes the same duty on every county health officer, who 'shall act immediately to prevent the spread of the disease' (Ex. DUT-MD-002); COMAR 10.06.01.06A and C command the Secretary and every health officer to 'take any action or measure necessary to prevent the spread of communicable disease' and to 'order cessation of operation of a business or facility determined or suspected to be a threat to public health until the public health threat is determined by the health officer to have ceased' (Ex. DUT-MD-014); Health-General section 18-905 authorizes isolation and quarantine orders and orders to 'any sheriff, deputy sheriff, or other law enforcement officer' to enforce them, and section 18-907 makes knowing and willful non-compliance a misdemeanor punishable by one year or $3,000 (Exs. DUT-MD-003, DUT-MD-004). The workplace-safety layer is Maryland's own: Labor and Employment section 5-104(a) commands that 'each employer shall provide each employee... with employment and a place of employment that are: (1) safe and healthful; and (2) free from each recognized hazard that is causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to the employee' (Ex. DUT-MD-010), enforced by mandatory civil penalties for serious violations of up to $7,000 per violation and $70,000 for willful or repeated violations (Exs. DUT-MD-011, DUT-MD-012); MOSH published its COVID-19 face-covering fact sheet in April 2020 (Ex. DUT-MD-019); on August 27, 2021 MOSH adopted the federal COVID-19 Healthcare ETS, 29 C.F.R. part 1910 subpart U, as COMAR 09.12.29 (Ex. DUT-MD-016) and issued its COVID-19 Pandemic Field Enforcement Guidelines (Ex. DUT-MD-020). The General Assembly added a pandemic-specific employer duty on May 30, 2021: Chapter 736 of 2021, the Maryland Essential Workers' Protection Act, commands that 'during an emergency, each essential employer shall: (1) provide working conditions that comply with applicable safety standards adopted by a federal or State agency; (2)... provide necessary amounts of safety equipment recommended for usage during the emergency at no cost to essential workers; (3) adopt, maintain, and post written protocols...; and (4) provide or implement any other measures or requirements set by the Governor or a federal or State agency to ensure the general health and safety of essential workers' (Ex. DUT-MD-013), in force for the whole of the catastrophic health emergency that remained, to August 15, 2021. Maryland enacted no general business liability shield: HB 508 and HB 1106 of 2021 received hearings and nothing more (official bill record, read and cited in the caveats); the only immunity is the health-care provider's, conditioned on acting 'in good faith and under a catastrophic health emergency proclamation' (Pub. Safety section 14-3A-06, Ex. DUT-MD-009; Health-General section 18-907(d), Ex. DUT-MD-004). The sanitary code bound every food service facility: COMAR 10.15.03.14 commands that the person-in-charge 'shall ensure that' an employee with persistent sneezing, coughing or a runny nose 'does not work with' exposed food, clean equipment or single-service articles and that the approving authority is notified of an employee suspected of a disease transmissible by food (Ex. DUT-MD-015), with license suspension and revocation under COMAR 10.15.03.35. The operating conditions in the orders themselves are recorded in existing_exhibits_cited with their verbs: 'shall comply with' (Exs. MD-010, MD-014, MD-026); 'shall require staff to wear' (Ex. MD-008); 'shall, in good faith and to the extent possible' (Exs. MD-008, MD-014, MD-051); 'shall,' 'must,' 'should' and 'recommended' in the MDH food-service directives (Exs. MD-045, MD-051); 'It is strongly recommended' for the public's social distancing (Ex. MD-014 para. II.a); and 'Advisory Recommendations' after May 15, 2021 (Ex. MD-054).

The question these duties answer

Whether the measures Maryland employers took that went beyond the four corners of the closure and stay-home orders were 'voluntary' in the sense of Notice 2021-20 Q&A-14 (an employer that suspends or reduces operations 'not due to a governmental order'). Answer: they were not. From May 15, 2020 to May 15, 2021 every business permitted to open in Maryland operated under an Order of the Governor whose Operating Requirements paragraph commanded that it 'shall comply with' applicable Local Orders, the Secretary of Health's Directives, 'applicable social distancing guidance published by CDC and MDH,' and the orders of the county health officer (Ex. MD-010 para. III.g.i; Ex. MD-014 para. III.k.i; Ex. MD-026 para. III.d.ii), on pain of a misdemeanor carrying a year's imprisonment or $5,000 (Md. Code Ann., Pub. Safety sections 14-114 and 14-3A-08, Exs. DUT-MD-006 and DUT-MD-008); from April 5, 2020 every county health officer held delegated power to order any 'Unsafe Facility' to 'modify its operations to comply with Social Distancing Guidance' or to close it (Ex. MD-039 para. II); throughout all six quarters Labor and Employment section 5-104 bound every employer to a workplace 'free from each recognized hazard' (Ex. DUT-MD-010), COMAR 10.06.01.06C commanded the Secretary and every health officer to 'order cessation of operation of a business or facility determined or suspected to be a threat to public health' (Ex. DUT-MD-014), and Health-General sections 18-102 and 18-208 commanded the Secretary and every health officer to 'act properly to prevent the spread of the disease' (Exs. DUT-MD-001, DUT-MD-002); from May 30 to August 15, 2021 the Maryland Essential Workers' Protection Act commanded every 'essential employer' to 'provide working conditions that comply with applicable safety standards adopted by a federal or State agency' and to 'provide or implement any other measures or requirements set by the Governor or a federal or State agency' (Ex. DUT-MD-013); and from August 27, 2021 MOSH enforced the federal COVID-19 Healthcare ETS as Maryland law (Ex. DUT-MD-016).

By character

5 Order penalty
3 Statutory authority
2 Adjudication
2 Sanitary code duty
2 Statutory duty
2 Workplace duty
1 Covid workplace rule
1 Guidance incorporated
1 Liability shield condition
1 Recommendation only

Exhibits

Ex. DUT-MD-001 Ex. DUT-MD-002 Ex. DUT-MD-003 Ex. DUT-MD-004 Ex. DUT-MD-005 Ex. DUT-MD-006 Ex. DUT-MD-007 Ex. DUT-MD-008 Ex. DUT-MD-009 Ex. DUT-MD-010 Ex. DUT-MD-011 Ex. DUT-MD-012 Ex. DUT-MD-013 Ex. DUT-MD-014 Ex. DUT-MD-015 Ex. DUT-MD-016 Ex. DUT-MD-017 Ex. DUT-MD-018 Ex. DUT-MD-019 Ex. DUT-MD-020

The Maryland duties, read in full 20 duty records in the Library →

On the calendar

Every dated instrument in the Maryland file across the nineteen months from March 2020 through September 2021, in the order it took effect. A bar takes the color of the instrument's first limitation type and runs from its effective month through its end month; a fading edge marks an instrument whose end the record does not date. Point at a bar for its dates; open the bar for the record.

Emergency declaration 8Stay-at-home 2Business closure 18Telework mandate 7Capacity limit 21Gathering cap 23Face-covering requirement 34Travel and quarantine 4Schools and child care 8Health care orders 20Curfew and hours 2Alcohol and bars 5Events and venues 20Courts and public offices 16Workplace rules 24Vaccination or testing 9Quarantine and isolation 9Supply chain 1Other 6