Overview

Maryland’s general statute of limitations for wage and hour and overtime claims under state law is 3 years. The governing statute is Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-106, and no separate claim-type-specific rule was identified for this topic, so the general/default period applies.

For practical purposes, that means a wage claim, unpaid overtime claim, or similar Maryland state-law pay dispute is usually timely if filed within 3 years of the date the claim accrued. In plain terms, the clock normally starts when the wages were due and not paid.

If you are checking a deadline, the key questions are:

• What date did the unpaid wages or overtime become due?
• Was there a later paycheck, final pay date, or written acknowledgment that could affect timing?
• Are you looking at a Maryland state-law claim, not a federal Fair Labor Standards Act claim?

Limitation period

Maryland uses a 3-year limitations period for this category of claims under the state’s general rule.

That means the standard answer is:

How the 3-year clock works

The limitations period generally runs from the date the claim accrues. For wage-and-hour disputes, that is typically the date the employee should have been paid, not the date the issue is discovered later.

A few common examples:

• Regular unpaid wages: the clock usually starts on the payday when wages were due.
• Unpaid overtime: the clock usually starts on the payday covering the workweek when overtime should have been paid.
• Final wages after separation: the clock usually starts when the final paycheck was due under the applicable payment schedule.

What the calculator needs

DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations calculator becomes more useful when you enter:

• the date of accrual or the last unpaid paycheck date,
• the claim type you are analyzing,
• and any tolling or pause facts you already know.

The output changes based on the date you supply:

• Earlier accrual date = earlier deadline
• Later accrual date = later deadline
• Multiple unpaid pay periods = multiple possible deadlines, each measured separately

A simple way to think about it is that each missed paycheck can carry its own 3-year filing window. That matters when a wage issue repeated over weeks or months.

Quick deadline check

Use this checklist to sanity-check a Maryland wage claim deadline:

Key exceptions

Maryland’s wage-and-hour time limit is generally 3 years, but the most practical exception is that claim accrual facts can shift the deadline even when the limitations period stays the same.

Here are the main timing issues to watch:

No special overtime-only Maryland rule identified

For this reference page, no claim-type-specific sub-rule was found for Maryland wage and hour / overtime state-law claims. That means there is no separate shorter or longer deadline identified here for overtime as a distinct category. The default 3-year period under Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-106 is the rule to use.

Common filing scenarios

1. Single missed paycheck
   The deadline usually runs 3 years from that paycheck’s due date.

2. Repeated unpaid overtime across many weeks
   Each workweek can have its own 3-year window, which means some weeks may still be timely while older weeks may not be.

3. Final paycheck not paid after termination
   The claim is usually measured from the date the final wages were due under the payment schedule.

4. Payroll records show partial payment
   The unpaid balance may still be timely if the claim is within 3 years of accrual.

Statute citation

Maryland’s general limitations statute for this topic is:

Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-106

That statute supplies the 3-year general limitation period used for Maryland wage and hour / overtime state-law claims when no more specific rule applies.

Reference snapshot

Practical citation use

When you are documenting a deadline analysis, include:

• the pay date or accrual date,
• the 3-year expiration date,
• and the statute citation supporting the limitation period.

That makes the calculation easier to audit and helps keep records consistent across multiple claims or pay periods.

Use the calculator

DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations tool helps you turn a pay date into a filing deadline quickly.

Start here: **/tools/statute-of-limitations

What to enter

For a Maryland wage or overtime deadline, have these details ready:

• the date wages were due
• the date of the last unpaid overtime workweek
• the type of claim
• any facts that may affect timing, such as later payment or multiple unpaid periods

How the output changes

The calculator’s result changes based on the date you provide:

• If the input date is older, the deadline is earlier
• If the input date is more recent, the deadline is later
• If there are multiple missing pay periods, you may see more than one possible deadline to track

Best use cases

The calculator is especially useful when you need to:

• verify whether a claim is still within the 3-year Maryland window,
• compare several pay periods at once,
• or confirm which older periods may have expired.

A simple workflow looks like this:

1. Gather the missed payroll dates.
2. Enter the relevant accrual date into the calculator.
3. Review the deadline against the 3-year rule in § 5-106.
4. Flag any periods outside the window.

Practical tip

If your wage issue spans months or years, calculate the deadline for each unpaid period separately. That gives you a cleaner picture than relying on one broad date for the whole dispute.

Related reading

• Browse the blog

Sources and references

Start with the primary authority for Maryland and confirm the effective date before relying on any output. If the rule has been amended, update the inputs and rerun the calculation.

• Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101

Related reading

• Choosing the right statute of limitations tool for Vermont — How to choose the right calculator
• Statute of limitations in Singapore: how to estimate the deadline — Full how-to guide with jurisdiction-specific rules
• Choosing the right statute of limitations tool for Connecticut — How to choose the right calculator