Human Trafficking Annual Certification Guidelines

Guidelines for the annual certification by lodging establishments of human trafficking training for employees

1. Frederick County Council Bill No.18-29, which is codified in Section 1-6-68 in the Frederick County Code, requires every employee of a lodging establishment to complete a human trafficking training program approved by a national hotel brand, a recognized national lodging association, or other training approved by the Frederick County Human Relations Department.

2. The owners and operators of lodging establishments must provide this training to their employees. This training instructs employees how to identify human trafficking activities and human trafficking victims, and how to make reports to law enforcement agencies.

3. Beginning on November 1, 2019, lodging establishments must make annual certification to Frederick County that all of their employees have completed the required training. The County will conduct an audit of lodging establishments to confirm their compliance.

4. The owners and operators of lodging establishments may comply with the certification requirement by sending a copy of the required training records, not later than December 31, 2019, to the Frederick County Human Relations Department at the following address: Human Relations Department, 401 Sagner Avenue, Frederick, MD 21701. The materials can also be sent by email to: mward@frederickcountymd.gov.

5. Owners and operators of lodging establishments must maintain accurate and complete records that the required training was provided to all employees. These records should be properly certified by a manager of each lodging establishment and should include the names of employees who received training, the date the training was received, and which type of training was provided to each employee.

6. Frederick County may impose fines and penalties for the failure to provide the required training to all employees, and for the failure to provide the required annual certification of employee training to Frederick County.

7. Further information about the human trafficking training and certification requirements, and a copy of the training materials that have been approved by the Human Relations Department (in both English and Spanish) can be found at the following link: https://frederickcountymd.gov/7903/Human-Trafficking-Training

8. Owners and operators of lodging establishments may contact the Frederick County Human Relations Department if they have questions about their obligation to provide the required training, or their obligation to make annual certification to Frederick County that the required training was provided. Contact can be made by calling Miles Ward at 301-600-1110, or by email at mward@frederickcountymd.gov.

Issued by the Frederick County Human Relations Department on August 13, 2019.