Maryland Blue Laws: Sunday Car Sales, Worker Rest, and Penalties

Maryland’s blue laws, codified in Title 18 of the Business Regulation Article, are narrower than most people assume. General retail and wholesale stores can open on Sunday. The real restrictions fall on car dealerships, which face a Sunday sales ban in most counties with fines up to $10,000, and on employers, who must honor a retail worker’s right to take Sunday (or another sabbath) as a day of rest.

Sunday Car Sales: The Restriction With Teeth

Under Section 18-101(d), car dealers generally cannot sell, show, or offer vehicles for sale on Sunday. The rule is not uniform, though. Three counties are completely exempt: Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George’s, where dealerships operate Sundays without restriction.¹

Several other jurisdictions carve out narrower exceptions:

Baltimore City used car dealers can sell on Sunday instead of Saturday, provided they notify the Motor Vehicle Administration in advance.
Charles County Commissioners may authorize Sunday vehicle sales by ordinance after a public hearing.
Anne Arundel County dealers can sell camping trailers, mobile homes, and travel trailers on Sunday.
Motorcycle sales are permitted on Sunday in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford, and Worcester counties.

These carve-outs come from subsections (e) through (i) of Section 18-101.¹ Wicomico County runs on its own separate set of Sunday rules in Subtitle 2 of Title 18 and is excluded from Section 18-101 entirely.

The patchwork means a dealership in Prince George’s County can sell cars seven days a week while one across the county line may face criminal charges for the same conduct on Sunday. Dealers operating near county borders need to know exactly which jurisdiction governs the lot.

Penalties for a Sunday Sales Violation

A dealer who violates the Sunday sales ban under Section 18-101(d) commits a misdemeanor and faces a fine of up to $10,000 per violation.¹ The misdemeanor classification matters as much as the dollar figure: a conviction is a criminal record, not a civil citation. A busy Sunday could theoretically produce multiple violations.

Employers who force a protected retail employee to work on a chosen day of rest face a separate penalty structure under Section 3-704 of the Labor and Employment Article. Outside Wicomico County, that violation is a misdemeanor carrying a fine between $250 and $500. The employee can also sue for triple their regular hourly rate for each hour worked on that day.²

Retail Employee Right to a Day of Rest

Section 3-704 lets employees in retail establishments choose Sunday or their sabbath as a day of rest. The employee gives written notice to the employer, and any later change requires 30 days’ written notice before it takes effect.²

Not everyone qualifies. Managerial employees, professional employees, and part-time workers (fewer than 25 hours per week) outside Wicomico County cannot claim the right. In Wicomico County, part-time employees do get the protection, but managerial and professional employees still do not.

Employers cannot fire, discipline, or discriminate against an employee who chooses a rest day. They also cannot ask applicants seeking 25 or more hours per week which day they would pick, which blocks employers from screening out anyone who might select Sunday.² The triple-pay remedy gives the employee a private enforcement route beyond whatever a county authority might do.

Landlords Cannot Force Sunday Hours

Section 18-101(c) prohibits a landlord from requiring a tenant to open on Sunday, either directly or indirectly. A landlord also cannot cancel or refuse to renew a lease because the merchant refuses Sunday hours.¹ This matters for small retailers in shopping centers where leases sometimes include operating-hour requirements. Even if a lease says otherwise, the statute overrides that contract term.

Alcohol Sales Are Not Covered

Sunday alcohol sales sit outside the blue laws entirely. Section 18-101(a)(1) states that the blue law provisions do not apply to alcoholic beverage sales, which are instead governed by the Alcoholic Beverages Article of the Maryland Code.¹

Alcohol regulations are organized by county and license class, with Sunday hours varying by jurisdiction and sometimes by election district. In some areas, Sunday sales require voter approval through a local referendum before they are permitted. Where allowed, Sunday hours often run from 6 a.m. to midnight, though the specifics depend on the license type and locality. Anyone selling alcohol should check the provisions specific to their county in the Alcoholic Beverages Article rather than rely on general statewide assumptions.

Professional Sports Scheduling

Section 18-102 says a professional team can play at any time after 1 p.m. on a Sunday, or earlier if local law or ordinance allows it.³ The provision rarely causes real conflict, since most major games in Maryland already start in the afternoon or evening, but it remains part of the Sunday Blue Laws title.

Federal Religious Accommodation Rights

Federal law adds another layer for workers who need Sundays off for religious reasons. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees whose sincerely held religious beliefs conflict with a work schedule, unless doing so would create a substantial burden on the business.⁴

Schedule changes for sabbath observance are among the most common accommodations the EEOC identifies. An employee does not need to file a formal written request or use specific language; they just need to let the employer know about the conflict. The employer must then explore options in good faith. Coworker complaints or customer preferences do not qualify as the kind of substantial burden that justifies denying the accommodation.⁴

This federal protection applies to employers with 15 or more employees, regardless of industry, and reaches situations Maryland’s day-of-rest statute does not, including workers in non-retail settings and those classified as managerial or professional employees.

1
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Business Regulation Code 18-101 – Retail and Wholesale Establishments
2
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code, Labor and Employment 3-704
3
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Business Regulation Code 18-102 – Professional Sports Teams
4
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Fact Sheet: Religious Accommodations in the Workplace