Delaware Labor Laws (2025 Guide)

What’s New in 2025

• Minimum wage increases to $15.00/hour
• Employers start taking payroll deductions and contributing towards Delaware Paid Leave
• Delaware Paid Leave coming January 1, 2026

Labor Law Posters

Federal Labor Law Posters
State Labor Law Posters

Wage and Hour Laws

Minimum Wage

From January 1, 2025, Delaware’s minimum wage is $15.00/hour. 

Various employees are exempt from the minimum wage, including:

• Agricultural employees.
• Domestic service employees in private homes. 
• Federal government workers.
• Outside salespeople paid on commission.
• Executive, administrative, and professional employees.
• Volunteers.
• Employees working in fishing and fish processing at sea.
• Minors employed as camp counselors at nonprofit summer camps.
• Inmates participating in the Department of Corrections programs.

Tipped Minimum Wage

The tipped minimum wage is $2.23/hour, meaning employers can pay employees $2.23/hour as long as they receive $15/hour once tips are accounted for. 

The tipped minimum wage applies only to employees who regularly receive more than $30 in tips each month. 

Tip pooling is allowed. Employees can choose to set up their own tip pooling system. Employers can require tip pooling in cases where multiple employees provide personal service to the same customer (however, employees can’t be required to pool more than 15% of the tips they receive). 

Overtime Laws

There are no state-based overtime laws in Delaware. Instead, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) applies. 

Under the FLSA, employers must pay non-exempt workers 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for any hours worked over 40 in a week. Employees exempt from FLSA overtime include:

• Administrative, executive, and professional employees earning at least $684/week.
• Highly-compensated employees earning at least $107,432/year.
• Outside salespersons.
• Computer professionals earning at least $684/week or $27.63/hour.

Break Laws

Meal Breaks

Workers scheduled to work 7.5 hours or more in a day must have a meal break of at least 30 minutes. 

The meal break should be after the first 2 hours of work and before the last 2 hours, with some exceptions, including where:

• The employee is employed by a local school board and works directly with children.
• There’s a collective bargaining agreement or employment contract that states otherwise.
• The Secretary of Labor has granted an exemption—for example, where a break would put public safety at risk or a business has fewer than 5 workers at 1 location. 

Employees don’t have to be paid for this break. 

Minor workers are entitled to an unpaid 30-minute break for every 5 consecutive hours worked. 

Rest Breaks

There are no separate rest break laws in Delaware. If employers choose to offer them, they must follow the FLSA.

Recordkeeping Requirements

Employers must keep the following wage and hour records for at least 3 years:

• Employees’ names, addresses, and occupations.
• Pay rates.
• Total paid for each pay period.
• Daily and weekly hours worked.

Scheduling Laws

Delaware currently doesn’t have any predictive scheduling laws requiring advance notice of work schedules or compensation for last-minute schedule changes. 

Employee Compensation and Benefits

Reporting Time Pay

Delaware doesn’t have any reporting time laws—i.e., employers don’t have to pay employees who go to work but are sent home before they’ve performed work. Employees are paid only for hours worked. 

Payday Frequency and Method

Employees must be paid at least once a month. They must receive their wages within 7 days of the end of a pay period (or the previous work day if payment is due on a non-work day). 

Employers can pay wages by cash or check—or by bank account if the employee requests this in writing. 

Paystub Requirements

Any employers with 4 or more employees must provide each worker with a pay statement each time they’re paid. This statement must include:

• The start and end dates of the pay period.
• Total wages due.
• Total hours worked (for employees paid by the hour).
• Any deductions.

This statement can be on the paycheck, separate, or electronic. Employees can request their pay statement in hard copy rather than electronically. 

Employers with 4 or more employees must also inform new hires of their pay rate, the time and method of payment, and any fringe benefits and workplace policies in writing at the time of hire. 

Wage Deductions and Garnishments

Employers can make only the following deductions from employees’ wages:

• Deductions required by law—e.g., taxes.
• Deductions relating to medical care, which the employer must record.
• Deductions authorized in writing by employees, unless the Department of Labor prohibits such deductions.

As a result, employers can’t deduct employee wages for cash shortages or damaged items. 

Under state law, wage garnishments are limited to 15% of an employee’s wages. 

Final Paycheck Laws

Regardless of whether an employee quits or is terminated, their final wages are due either the next regular payday or 3 business days after the employee’s last day—whichever is later. 

Employers can pay final wages in the usual manner or by mail if the employee requests. 

Employers who fail to pay final wages when required to do so may also be liable for damages, which are calculated as the lower of the following:

• 10% of unpaid wages for each day the employer fails to pay (excluding Sundays and legal holidays).
• The total amount of the unpaid wages.

Workers’ Compensation

Any Delaware employer with at least 1 employee (except those that employ farm workers) must have workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ compensation provides coverage in the event that an employee suffers a workplace injury or illness. 

Workers’ compensation may cover:

• Medical costs.
• Temporary total disability, where the employee can’t return to work 3 days after the incident.
• Temporary partial disability, where the employee returns to work on a part-time basis or is paid less.
• Permanent impairment, where the employee suffers a permanent partial disability, such as the loss of a limb.
• Disfigurement, where the employee suffers a scar, burn, or amputation (available 1 year after the incident).
• Death-related costs, including funeral expenses and dependents’ benefits.

Under the state’s workers’ compensation law, employers must:

• Maintain a record of all workplace injuries.
• File a First Report of Injury with the Office of Workers’ Compensation within 10 days of being notified of a workplace injury or illness and provide a copy to the employee.
• Notify their insurer of any workplace injuries or illnesses within 10 days.
• Provide compensation to employees for any disability lasting longer than 3 days after the incident.

Employees are obligated to:

• Report any workplace injury or illness in writing to their employer as soon as possible and seek medical care.
• Provide employers with a notice of claim for compensation if they’re off work for more than 3 days after the incident (family members must provide this notice in the event of workplace fatality).

Employers can’t take adverse action, including discrimination, against an employee for claiming workers’ compensation. 

If an employee’s claim for workers’ compensation is refused, they can file a petition for a hearing with the Industrial Accident Board (IAB). They have 2 years after an injury and 1 year after diagnosis of an illness to do so.

Employers may be able to lower their workers’ compensation insurance premiums by participating in Delaware’s Workplace Safety Program. 

Unemployment Insurance

Delaware’s unemployment insurance (UI) program supports workers between jobs. 

Employers must pay taxes to fund this program. The amount of UI tax employers pay varies depending on their payroll size and the relevant tax rate. 

Individuals can file for UI benefits online or at an unemployment office. To be eligible for UI benefits, an individual must:

• Be unemployed through no fault of their own.
• Be able and available to work.
• Actively seek employment.
• Have earned a certain amount of wages during their base period (the first 4 of the last 5 calendar quarters before they filed for benefits).

Depending on the individual’s earnings during their base period, they may receive between $40 and $450 per week in UI benefits. Benefits are capped at 26 weeks in 12 months (this may be extended when unemployment in the state is high). 

If an individual’s claim for UI benefits is denied, they have the right to appeal to the Division of Unemployment Insurance. They must do this within 10 days of their claim being denied. 

Workplace Rights and Protections

Discrimination and Harassment

Delaware’s Office of Anti-Discrimination (OAD) oversees state anti-discrimination laws. 

Under state law, businesses with 4 or more employees are prohibited from discriminating against candidates or employees based on:

• Race.
• Color.
• National origin.
• Marital status.
• Genetic information.
• Age.
• Religion.
• Sex, including pregnancy.
• Sexual orientation.
• Housing status.

Employers with 15 or more employees also can’t discriminate against employees and candidates based on disability. Businesses also must make reasonable accommodations for disabilities. 

Employers also can’t pay employees differently for equal work based on gender. 

Employers with 4 or more employees must make reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees and candidates. This includes pregnancy-related conditions, like breastfeeding (employers must provide employees with breaks to express milk when requested). 

Other unlawful employment practices in Delaware include:

• Making employment-related decisions based on someone’s status as a victim of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault.
• Making employment-related decisions based on someone’s reproductive health choices.
• Making employment-related decisions based on someone’s family responsibilities.
• Asking candidates to provide their age, date of birth, or attendance or graduation dates in an initial employment application—unless this request is based on a legitimate job requirement or required by law.

Delaware’s anti-discrimination laws often provide some limited exceptions to the general prohibition against discrimination, requirements for reasonable accommodation, and unlawful employment practices. 

Individuals who believe they’ve been discriminated against can file a charge with the OAD. They must file a charge before they can file a lawsuit. 

To do this, they must file an Intake Form via email or in person at an OAD office within 300 days of the alleged discrimination. The OAD then conducts an intake interview where the individual signs a formal charge. 

The OAD will offer the parties mediation to resolve the matter without a formal investigation. Otherwise, the OAD investigates and considers the allegation before making a preliminary decision. 

If the OAD dismisses the charge, the individual has 90 days to file a lawsuit. 

If the OAD finds discrimination, it’ll try to resolve the case with the employer to reach an agreed remedy, such as reinstatement, reasonable accommodations, back pay, and damages. If this is unsuccessful, the OAD closes the case and the individual has 90 days to file a lawsuit.  

The OAD has a work-share agreement with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). As a result, if an individual files a charge with the OAD that’s also covered by federal law, it’ll automatically be filed with the EEOC, and vice versa. 

Leave Laws

✅ Family and Medical Leave	From January 1, 2026, Delaware will have paid family and medical leave under its Delaware Paid Leave scheme. Delaware Paid Leave gives eligible employees up to 80% of their wages (capped at $900/week) when they take: • Parental Leave to care for a new child (maximum 12 weeks/year). • Family Caregiver Leave to support a family member with a serious health condition (maximum 6 weeks every 24 months). • Medical Leave to take care of their own serious health condition or injury (maximum 6 weeks every 24 months). • Qualified Exigency Leave to support a family member deployed in the military overseas (maximum 6 weeks every 24 months). Total paid leave is capped at 12 weeks/year.  To be eligible for this leave, employees must’ve worked for the employer for at least 1 year and 1,250 hours in the last 12 months.  Delaware Paid Leave’s requirements apply only to employers with 10 or more employees: • Employers with 10–24 Delaware-based employees are required to offer Parental Leave only. • Employers with 25+ Delaware-based employees must offer leave for all purposes. The scheme is funded by employer contributions. Employers can require employees to cover up to half of the cost (the total cost per employee is less than 1% of their weekly wages).  Covered employers must register with Delaware LaborFirst. From January 1, 2025, employers enrolled in the State’s plan must begin taking payroll deductions. From April 30, 2025, employers must start paying contributions.  In the meantime, employees who work for employers with at least 50 workers may be able to access unpaid leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  Employees who’ve worked for an employer for at least a year and 1,250 hours may be able to access up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for the following reasons: • The arrival of a new child, by birth or placement. • To care for a family member with a serious health condition. • To care for their own serious health condition. • Certain reasons relating to a family member’s military service.
✅ Paid Sick Leave	From January 1, 2026, covered employees can access Delaware Paid Leave for this purpose.
✅ Paid Family Leave	From January 1, 2026, covered employees can access Delaware Paid Leave for this purpose.
✅ Pregnancy and Parental Leave	From January 1, 2026, covered employees can access Delaware Paid Leave for this purpose.
❌ Vacation and Personal Leave	No Delaware laws require employers to provide employees with vacation or personal leave. Where they choose to do so, employers should comply with the terms of any relevant policies or employment contracts.

Other Mandatory Leave

Military Leave	The federal Uniformed Services Employment Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) covers military leave in Delaware.  In addition to this coverage, members of the Delaware National Guard called to active duty are also protected by state law.
Jury Duty Leave	Employees are allowed to take unpaid leave to attend jury service. Employers can’t penalize them for doing so.
Victim of Crime Leave	Employers can’t retaliate against employees who are victims of crimes and take time off to attend or participate in a proceeding.
Election Official Leave	While there’s no voting leave in Delaware, employees who are election officers must be given time off for election days if they have vacation leave available and aren’t critically needed.
Emergency Response Leave	Employers with at least 10 employees can’t retaliate against an employee who takes leave to attend to a state of emergency or is injured as a volunteer emergency responder.  This is capped at 7 consecutive days for Governor-declared states of emergencies and 14 consecutive days for President-declared states of emergencies.

Child Labor Laws

Delaware’s minimum working age is 14. 

Employers must have a work permit on record for any minor they employ. Permits are issued by school district superintendents (or someone at a school authorized on their behalf) and the Department of Labor. 

Minors must have a minimum 30-minute break every 5 consecutive hours they work. 

Delaware’s child labor laws also restrict the type of work and work hours for minors:

	14 and 15-year-olds	16 and 17-year-olds
When school is in session	Can’t work: • During school hours • Before 7am or after 7pm • More than 4 hours on a school day • More than 8 hours on a non-school day • More than 18 hours/week (when school is in session for 5 days)	• Can’t have more than 12 hours of combined school and work per day • Must have 8 consecutive hours where they’re not at work or at school every 24 hours
Vacation periods	Can’t work: • Before 7am or after 9pm (June 1st to Labor Day) • More than 40 hours/week
Limits on types of work	Minors under 16 can’t work in various hazardous jobs, including those prohibited by the FLSA and jobs involving: • The operation of power-driven machinery • Meat slicers • Deep fat fryers • Boilers • Mines or quarries A special permit from the Department of Labor is required for any minor under 16 to work as a model, performer, or entertainer.	Minors under 18 can’t work in various hazardous roles, including those prohibited by the FLSA and jobs involving: • Blast furnaces • Railroads • Alcohol distilleries • The making of dangerous or toxic chemicals

Employers who violate child labor laws can face civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation. 

Workplace Safety and Health

Delaware doesn’t have its own workplace safety and health plan. Instead, the federal Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act, which is administered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), applies. 

Under the OSH Act, employers have various obligations, including:

• Providing employees with a safe workplace.
• Complying with any OSHA rules and regulations.
• Delivering occupational safety and health training to employees in a language they understand.
• Clearly displaying an OSHA poster in the workplace.
• Maintaining a record of any workplace injuries or illnesses.
• Reporting workplace fatalities to OSHA within 8 hours and loss of an eye or amputation within 24 hours.

Alongside their right to a safe workplace, employees have responsibilities under the OSH Act, such as complying with any OSHA rules and regulations and using safety equipment properly and as directed. 

Employees can also report any suspected workplace health and safety violations to OSHA. They must do this within 6 months of the alleged violation. The law protects employees from employer retaliation for reporting OSHA violations or participating in OSHA investigations. 

Delaware encourages employers to provide employees with a safe working environment via its Workplace Safety Program. Employers who participate may receive discounts on their workers’ compensation premiums.

Labor Union Regulations

Delaware isn’t a right-to-work state, meaning employees can be required to join a union or pay union fees as a condition of employment. 

Delaware’s Public Employment Relations Act protects public employees’ right to join and form unions and engage in collective bargaining. 

The federal National Labor Relations Act protects private employees’ labor union rights. 

Employment Contracts and Severance

Employment Contract Laws

Delaware follows at-will employment laws, meaning employers or employees can end the employment relationship at any time and for any legal reason (an example of an illegal reason is terminating someone on a discriminatory basis). 

It’s illegal for employers to make it a condition of employment that employees can’t discuss their wages with other employees or terminate their employment on this basis. 

Non-compete clauses in employment contracts are enforceable in Delaware only if they’re reasonable in scope—including time and geographic area—and intended to protect a legitimate business interest. 

Severance Pay

No laws require Delaware employers to provide severance pay. 

Additional State-Specific Employment Laws

Smoke-free workplaces	Employers must ban smoking in indoor work areas and enclosed indoor areas open to the public.
Mass layoffs	Under Delaware law, employers must give employees at least 60 days written notice of any mass layoff, plant closure, or relocation. This applies to employers with 100 or more full-time employees or employees who work at least 2,000 total combined hours a week.
Mini-COBRA law	The federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) allows individuals to keep their health insurance coverage for a limited time in specific circumstances—for example, if they lose their job. COBRA applies only to employers with 20 or more employees.  Delaware’s mini-COBRA law extends this health insurance coverage to employees who work for businesses with 1 to 19 employees.
Medical marijuana	Medical marijuana is legal in Delaware. Employers can’t discriminate against candidates or employees who are medical marijuana cardholders or test positive during a drug test (unless they used, possessed, or were impaired by marijuana on work premises or during work hours).
Social media	Delaware employers are prohibited from asking employees or candidates to provide their social media usernames or passwords.
Compensation history	When hiring, employers can’t screen candidates based on their previous compensation or ask a candidate or their former employer for information about their compensation.  Employers can ask only after an offer of employment is made and accepted.
Employee communications monitoring	State law prohibits employers from monitoring employees’ phone calls, emails, or internet use unless they give employees: • A daily electronic notice of the monitoring when employees access their work emails or the Internet. • A one-off written notice (which can be electronic) that’s acknowledged by the employee.

Legal Resources for Employers and Employees

Delaware’s Department of Labor website is a good starting point for employers and employees to learn more about the state’s labor laws, including wage and hours laws. 

Employees may be able to seek free employment law advice and assistance via:

• Legal Help Link, which provides online information and referrals
• Legal Services Corporation of Delaware, Inc., which offers information on work and unemployment

Our guide on federal employment laws also provides more information, including federal laws not covered above.

Disclaimer

The information presented on this website about labor laws in Delaware is a summary for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. However, laws and regulations regularly change and may vary depending on individual circumstances. While we have made every effort to ensure the information provided is up to date and reliable, we cannot guarantee its completeness, accuracy, or applicability to your specific situation. Therefore, we strongly recommend that readers seek guidance from their legal department or a qualified attorney to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Please note that we cannot be held liable for any actions taken or not taken based on the information presented on this website.