Delaware paid leave law enacted

On May 10, Delaware Governor John Carney signed into law the state’s Healthy Delaware Families Act, which includes a family and medical leave insurance program.

Employers are covered by the law if they have 10 or more employees in the state during the previous 12 months. What leave employers must provide depends upon how many employees they have.

• Employers with 10 to 24 employees during the previous 12 months must provide only parental leave.
• Employers with 25 or more employees during the previous 12 months must provide parental, family caregiving, and medical leave.

Employees who primarily report for work at a worksite in Delaware are eligible to take the leave if they have worked for the employer for at least 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours during the previous 12-month period.

Beginning January 1, 2026, Delaware employees may take the job-protected, paid family and medical leave for the following reasons:

• To address a worker's own serious health condition.
• To care for a family member with a serious health condition.
• To bond and care for a new child.
• To address the impact of a family member's military deployment.

Employees may take up to 12 weeks per year for parental leave and an aggregate of six weeks in any 24-month period for other qualifying reasons, for a cumulative total of up to 12 weeks of benefits per year.

Employers must maintain group health care coverage during leave.

If employees are eligible for both the FMLA and the state paid leave and the reason qualifies for both, the leaves may run concurrently.

Covered employers must provide written notice of the state law to each employee upon hire and when the employees put the employer on notice of the need for leave.

Both employers and employees will contribute to the program, with contributions beginning January 1, 2025. Employees contribute through payroll deductions. Employees are then paid through the state's paid leave trust fund.