Title 7. Farm Labor Contractors — Subtitle 1. Definitions; General Provisions
Statutes in effect as of October 1, 2026.
Md. Code Ann., Lab. & Empl. § 7-101 (2026)
Title 7. Farm Labor Contractors
Subtitle 1. Definitions; General Provisions
§ 7–101LinkCopy Citation
(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.
Md. Code Ann., Lab. & Empl. § 7-102 (2026)
Title 7. Farm Labor Contractors
Subtitle 1. Definitions; General Provisions
§ 7–102LinkCopy Citation
(a)
This title does not apply:
(1)
to a common carrier or an employee of a common carrier solely because it transports a migrant agricultural worker;
(2)
to a custom grain combine, hay harvesting, or sheep shearing operation or to an employee of the operation while the employee is performing a farm labor contracting service only for the operation;
(3)
to an individual who performs farm labor contracting services, or an employee of the individual while the employee is performing a farm labor contracting service only for the individual, within a 25–mile intrastate radius of the permanent place of residence of the individual and not exceeding 13 weeks a year;
(4)
to an agricultural operation when engaging a farm labor contractor through the Maryland Department of Labor; or
(5)
to an individual who performs farm labor contracting services only for a farm or a cannery, packing shed, seed conditioning establishment, or other processing establishment, if:
(i)
the individual or an immediate family member of the individual exclusively owns and operates the farm or establishment; and
(ii)
only the individual and immediate family members of the individual perform farm labor contracting services for the farm or establishment.
(b)
This title does not apply:
(1)
to any person other than a farm labor contractor to whom no more than 10 migrant agricultural workers are provided at any time during the current and preceding calendar years;
(2)
to an individual while acting as an employee of an agricultural operation that is excluded under item (1) of this subsection; or
(3)
to a custom operation for poultry harvesting, breeding, debeaking, sexing, or health service or to an employee of the operation while the employee is performing a farm labor contracting service only for the operation, unless the operation regularly requires an employee to be absent during nonworking hours from the domicile of the employee.
Md. Code Ann., Lab. & Empl. § 7-103 (2026)
Title 7. Farm Labor Contractors
Subtitle 1. Definitions; General Provisions
§ 7–103LinkCopy Citation
An agreement by a migrant agricultural worker to waive or modify a right of the migrant agricultural worker under this title is void as contrary to public policy.