HB 1108 Maryland House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Labor and Employment - Greenhouse Workers - Collective Bargaining and Heat Protection

HB 1108 grants collective bargaining rights to workers in Maryland greenhouses (controlled-environment agricultural operations), allowing them to form unions and negotiate wages, hours, and working conditions with employers. The bill requires the state Labor Secretary to establish regulations for union elections, certification, and resolving bargaining disputes, while mandating greenhouse employers to provide rest breaks during extreme heat to prevent heat-related illness. This law directly affects greenhouse workers and their employers, creating a formal process for union representation and heat protection. It amends Maryland's labor code to include these specific protections for greenhouse workers, who previously lacked these rights under state law.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 11, 2026 Last action Mar 19, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

First - Labor and Employment - Greenhouse Workers - Collective Bargaining and Heat Protection Third - Labor and Employment - Greenhouse Workers - Collective Bargaining and Heat Protection · 4 edits
MODERATE
This bill was amended to expand the number of sponsors and add a favorable committee report with amendments. The most significant substantive change is replacing the Secretary of Labor with the Secretary of Labor Public Employee Relations Board as the enforcing agency for collective bargaining provisions. Additionally, the definition of 'employee' was restructured to clarify that it applies to individuals working in controlled-environment agricultural operations while explicitly excluding those whose duties exclusively involve retail services.
Scope change
The bill's enforcement authority shifted from the Secretary of Labor alone to the Secretary of Labor Public Employee Relations Board, and employee eligibility was clarified to exclude retail workers.
ENFORCEMENT

Changed the enforcing agency from the Secretary of Labor to the Secretary of Labor Public Employee Relations Board for collective bargaining investigations and enforcement.

DEFINITION

Restructured the definition of 'employee' to specify that it applies to individuals employed in controlled-environment agricultural operations where temperature and environmental conditions are artificially regulated.

ELIGIBILITY

Added an explicit exclusion stating that 'employee' does not include individuals whose job duties exclusively involve the provision of retail services.

TECHNICAL

Added new sponsors (Hornberger, Lehman, Ruth, Schindler, Terrasa, Wells, and Wu) to the bill and included a favorable committee report with amendments.

Floor votes · House of Delegates Mar 5, 2026

How they voted

9935
Passed · 8 other
Total votes 142
Mar 5, 2026
D Democratic103
98 Yea 1 Nay 4
95% Yea
R Republican39
1 Yea 34 Nay 4
87% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
8
Key actions
4
Committee
4
Mar 19, 2026
Committee
Referred Finance
upper
Mar 18, 2026
Lower · Passed
Third Reading Passed
lower
Mar 17, 2026
Lower · Passed
Favorable with Amendments {
lower
Mar 16, 2026
Lower · Passed
Favorable with Amendments Report by Government, Labor, and Elections
lower
Mar 5, 2026
House Of Delegates · Passed
House of Delegates Vote: pass (99-35-8)
house of delegates
Feb 11, 2026
Committee
First Reading Government, Labor, and Elections
lower
8 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors