What is the minimum age to work as a youth sports referee in Maryland?

14 (under 14: farm, domestic, newspaper, caddying, parents; models/performers with special permit) Md. Lab. & Empl. 3-203 exempts (outside school hours, non-hazardous): farm work, domestic work, parent's business, golf caddying, instructional-sailboat instruction, newspaper delivery, evergreen wreaths, certified youth-camp counselor/instructor, unpaid nonprofit volunteering with parental consent. No referee/official carve-out in 3-203 (3-210 is hours only). State law keys on 'employ/permit to work' - no 1099 carve-out.

When is a final paycheck due in Maryland if you let someone go?

Next regular payday Treble damages possible (Lab. & Empl. 3-507.2). PTO per written policy.

How does Maryland decide whether a coach or referee is a 1099 contractor or an employee?

Economic reality (Md. Code Lab. & Empl. 3-401 follows FLSA); Workplace Fraud Act (construction/landscaping) ABC

Does a youth sports league in Maryland need workers' compensation for 1099 referees and coaches?

Maryland presumes that an individual in the service of an employer under an express or implied contract of hire is a covered employee (Lab. & Empl. 9-202), and the hiring entity must rebut that presumption under the common-law test from Mackall v. Zayre (power to select and hire, payment of wages, power to discharge, power to control the conduct of the work, and whether the work is part of the regular business), with the right to control being decisive. Sole proprietors and partners are not covered unless they elect in (9-227); Maryland has no contractor waiver or certificate of exemption. A principal contractor that contracts out work that is part of its trade or business is the statutory employer of the subcontractor's workers if the subcontractor is uninsured (9-508). Sports officials: no WC exclusion found. UI has an express one: 8-206(h) excludes officiating services by a recreational sports official (umpire, referee, judge) who contracts with a county, municipal or affiliated entity for amateur events, which does not reach private leagues or paid coaches. Bottom line: county and municipal rec referees are outside UI but still judged under the WC presumption; private-league 1099 referees and coaches are presumed covered employees unless the league can show it does not control the work, so misclassified workers are a real WC and UI exposure, with Workplace Fraud Act-style penalties only for construction and landscaping.

For youth sports organizations and event operators · Maryland rulebook

Youth sports labor rules in Maryland: who can you put in the game, and what do you owe them?

State rules for everyone a youth sports organization pays: coaches and trainers on payroll, officials and event staff on 1099, program and front-office staff, and the teenagers you hire for a season. Wages, final pay, minors, contractor status, workers' comp, safe sport and youth safety, 50 states + DC, checked against statute text.

Last reviewed Oct 1, 202651 jurisdictions · 32 rules each

Step 1

Pick the state where the work happens

Rules follow where people work, not where you are based. Running an event? Use the event state. Operating a club or league? Use the state where your staff coach, officiate and work.

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Set a role, age and pay type below to see which rules apply to your organization.

Step 2

Check a staffing plan

Tell us who you are paying, how old they are, and whether they are on payroll or 1099. We rank what applies.

State where the work happens

Role

Worker age

Paid as

Not sure if someone should be 1099 or on payroll?Answer 5 plain-English questions. We explain the sticking points in your state.5-question check

Tourney Direct does not decide classification. Confirm with a tax advisor or attorney before you onboard anyone as a contractor.

Step 3

Everything on file for Maryland

All 32 rules for this state, with the statutes and agency pages they came from.

Wages and pay
Minimum wage (2026): $15.00
Required pay frequency: Bi-weekly or semi-monthly
Final paycheck if you let them go: Next regular payday
Final paycheck if they quit: Next regular payday
Final-pay penalties: Treble damages possible (Lab. & Empl. 3-507.2). PTO per written policy.
State income tax withholding: Yes
Workers' comp required at: 1+
New-hire report due (days): 20
Minors
Minimum working age: 14 (under 14: farm, domestic, newspaper, caddying, parents; models/performers with special permit)
Work permit: Yes, under 18 (job-specific work permit issued online by MD Dept of Labor)
Ages 14 to 15, school in session: State: 4 hrs/school day, 23 hrs/wk; 7am-8pm - FLSA 3/18, 7pm stricter
Ages 14 to 15, summer and breaks: 8 hrs/day, 40 hrs/wk; 7am-9pm Memorial Day-Labor Day
Ages 16 to 17: Max 12 hrs combined school+work/day; 8 consecutive non-work/non-school hrs per 24; no fixed curfew
Weekend and evening games: Sat/Sun: 16-17 effectively 12-hr max with 8 hrs rest; new job = new permit
Referee, coach and recreation exemptions: Md. Lab. & Empl. 3-203 exempts (outside school hours, non-hazardous): farm work, domestic work, parent's business, golf caddying, instructional-sailboat instruction, newspaper delivery, evergreen wreaths, certified youth-camp counselor/instructor, unpaid nonprofit volunteering with parental consent. No referee/official carve-out in 3-203 (3-210 is hours only). State law keys on 'employ/permit to work' - no 1099 carve-out.
Contractors and leave
How this state decides 1099 vs. payroll: Economic reality (Md. Code Lab. & Empl. 3-401 follows FLSA); Workplace Fraud Act (construction/landscaping) ABC
Same question, for unemployment insurance: ABC test (Md. Code Lab. & Empl. 8-205)
Referee-specific rule: Md. Code Lab. & Empl. 8-206(h): officiating services by 'recreational sports official' (umpire/referee/judge contracting with county/municipal or affiliated entity for amateur events) are not covered employment (UI)
Workers' comp for 1099 referees and coaches: Maryland presumes that an individual in the service of an employer under an express or implied contract of hire is a covered employee (Lab. & Empl. 9-202), and the hiring entity must rebut that presumption under the common-law test from Mackall v. Zayre (power to select and hire, payment of wages, power to discharge, power to control the conduct of the work, and whether the work is part of the regular business), with the right to control being decisive. Sole proprietors and partners are not covered unless they elect in (9-227); Maryland has no contractor waiver or certificate of exemption. A principal contractor that contracts out work that is part of its trade or business is the statutory employer of the subcontractor's workers if the subcontractor is uninsured (9-508). Sports officials: no WC exclusion found. UI has an express one: 8-206(h) excludes officiating services by a recreational sports official (umpire, referee, judge) who contracts with a county, municipal or affiliated entity for amateur events, which does not reach private leagues or paid coaches. Bottom line: county and municipal rec referees are outside UI but still judged under the WC presumption; private-league 1099 referees and coaches are presumed covered employees unless the league can show it does not control the work, so misclassified workers are a real WC and UI exposure, with Workplace Fraud Act-style penalties only for construction and landscaping.
Seasonal or recreation carve-out: Md. Lab. & Empl. 3-403(a)(2) exempts nonadministrative employees of organized camps (resident or day) from MW/OT; 3-415(b)(3) adds an OT-only exemption for amusement/recreational establishments (incl. swimming pools) meeting the 7-month or 33-1/3% receipts test.
Paid sick leave: Yes: Healthy Working Families Act: 1 hr/30 hrs up to 40 hrs (paid if 15+ EEs, unpaid if <15); employees <12 hrs/wk excluded; certain seasonal exemptions
Paid family and medical leave: Yes (delayed), FAMLI contributions begin 1/1/2027 at 0.9% of wages (to SS cap), split 50/50 (0.45% each); employers <15 EEs remit only the employee half; benefits begin Jan. 2028. No further delay as of MD DOL FAMLI site (checked 9/9/2026).
What it costs to get it wrong: Workplace Fraud Act: up to $5,000 per misclassified employee (knowing); UI 8-206 penalties
Safety
Background checks: Permissive: Md. Fam. Law §5-560 to -568 allows youth-serving orgs (incl. recreation programs) to request CJIS state/FBI fingerprint checks; not mandated. New: HB 1326 (2026), Ch. 790, signed May 26, 2026, in effect since Oct 1, 2026 (cross-filed SB 447), DHS may disclose finalized 'indicated' child abuse/neglect findings to 'the coach, team administrator, or manager of a youth sports program' and other child-supervising orgs for screening; checking remains optional. Also SB 770 (2025, eff. 7/1/2025): youth-serving orgs incl. 'recreational sports leagues and teams' must collect applicant disclosures on prior abuse/boundary-violation investigations (Educ. §6-113.3). Mandatory checks only for county/municipal recreation employees under local ordinance.
Safe sport: state law: Partial, and growing. No Maryland statute yet requires private leagues, clubs, camps or tournaments to give abuse-prevention training or adopt two-adult, one-on-one, electronic-communication, locker-room or travel policies, and none adopts the SafeSport Code. What exists: (1) Educ. 6-113.3 (SB 770, 2025, eff. July 1, 2025) makes "recreational sports leagues and teams" and other youth-serving organizations collect written applicant disclosures about prior abuse or boundary-violation investigations before hiring or placing volunteers; (2) Health-Gen. 14-501 to 14-503 require any youth sports program using public school facilities to give parents a concussion information sheet and keep removal and return-to-play policies; (3) Family Law 5-704.1 and 5-705 impose universal reporting. Coach-specific criminal law: Crim. Law 3-308(c) names "coach" among school authority figures whose sexual contact with a student is a fourth-degree sexual offense, and 3-607 criminalizes hazing. Pending or failed: HB 734 (2023) and HB 1393 (2025), "Youth Sports Programs - Registrations, Personnel, and Policy," would have required personnel registries and signed parent acknowledgments but did not pass. Cross-reference: HB 1326 (2026, Ch. 790, eff. Oct. 1, 2026) abuse-finding disclosure and permissive CJIS checks are in the background-check column.
Safe sport: federal SafeSport Act and NGB rules: National baseline: the SafeSport Act (36 U.S.C. 220541-43, 18 U.S.C. 2258, Pub. L. 115-126 as amended by Pub. L. 116-189 in 2020, no later amendment found) binds NGBs and their member clubs in interstate competition to SafeSport Core training, MAAPP policies and 24-hour reporting to the Center and law enforcement. Maryland overlay: universal mandated reporting (Fam. Law 5-705, report to DSS or police "as soon as possible") runs alongside the federal rule, and Educ. 6-113.3 applicant disclosures plus the 2026 DHS finding-disclosure law add screening steps MAAPP does not require, so NGB clubs in Maryland must layer both. MPSSAA rules bind school coaches only.
Concussion law: Md. Educ. Code §7-433 (2011), public schools AND youth sports programs using school facilities (must provide concussion info sheets to parents/athletes); coach training via MSDE/MPSSAA; RTP written clearance by licensed health-care provider.
Sudden cardiac arrest law: Yes: Md. Educ. §7-436 (2016) youth sports programs on school property must give SCA info; Bailey Bullock Act (Md. Educ. §7-452, 2024) cardiac emergency action plans for schools.
CPR and AED: Schools: AED at athletic events (Md. Educ. §7-425); MPSSAA coaches CPR/AED. Youth leagues: none (AED immunity Md. Educ. §13-517).
Coaches as mandated reporters: All persons: Md. Fam. Law §5-705 (professionals §5-704).
Coach certification: None statewide for non-school coaches.
Assault-on-official law: No (bills pending 2026).

All states

Rulebook by state

Maryland at a glance: minimum wage $15.00. Final paycheck when you let someone go: Next regular payday. Minimum working age: 14 (under 14: farm, domestic, newspaper, caddying, parents; models/performers with special permit). Background checks for youth sports: Permissive: Md. Fam. Law §5-560 to -568 allows youth-serving orgs (incl. recreation programs) to request CJIS state/FBI fingerprint checks; not mandated. New: HB 1326 (2026), Ch. 790, signed May 26, 2026, in effect since Oct 1, 2026 (cross-filed SB 447), DHS may disclose finalized 'indicated' child abuse/neglect findings to 'the coach, team administrator, or manager of a youth sports program' and other child-supervising orgs for screening; checking remains optional. Also SB 770 (2025, eff. 7/1/2025): youth-serving orgs incl. 'recreational sports leagues and teams' must collect applicant disclosures on prior abuse/boundary-violation investigations (Educ. §6-113.3). Mandatory checks only for county/municipal recreation employees under local ordinance.