DE · state labor law, 2026
Delaware labor laws: minimum wage, overtime, leave, final pay and breaks
Delaware switched on a paid family and medical leave insurance program in January 2026, which makes this the first year its workers can draw benefits.
Delaware and federal rules checked on official sources on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Minimum wage now
- $15.00/h
- statewide
- Next change
- none announced
- checked October 11, 2026
- Tipped cash wage
- $2.23/h
- tips must make up the rest
- Overtime
- 40 h/week
- federal FLSA rule
- Paid sick leave
- no state law
- employer policy
- Paid family leave
- 12 weeks
- Delaware Paid Leave (Healthy Delaware Families Act)
The biggest change for Delaware workers in 2026 is Delaware Paid Leave, whose benefits became payable on January 1, 2026. An eligible employee, meaning one with at least 12 months and 1,250 hours at the same employer, can receive 80 percent of average weekly wages, between $100 and $900 a week, for up to 12 weeks a year across all reasons. Parental leave can use all 12 weeks, while your own serious health condition and care for a relative are each limited to 6 weeks every 24 months. The minimum wage is $15.00 an hour, the rate in force since January 1, 2025, and tipped staff can be paid a cash wage of $2.23 if tips bring them to that level. Employees who work seven and a half consecutive hours get an unpaid 30-minute meal break. Final wages, whether you quit or are let go, are due on the later of the next payday or three business days after your last day.
Gross pay for this week in Delaware
$600
Time and a half after 40 hours in a week (federal rule)
| Minimum wage in Delaware now | $15 an hour |
| Your rate against it | At or above the minimum |
| Overtime: none this week | $0 |
| Paid sick leave earned in a year | No statewide paid sick leave law |
| Breaks owed in a 8-hour shift | 30 min meal |
| Final paycheck if fired | the later of the next regular payday or 3 business days after the last day worked |
| Unused vacation at the end | Paid out if the employer policy or contract says so |
| Paid family leave | Delaware Paid Leave (Healthy Delaware Families Act), up to 12 weeks |
40 hours a week at $15. State rule applied. Minimum wage, overtime and leave rules have exceptions by employer size and industry. How this is calculated.
The first year of Delaware Paid Leave
The Healthy Delaware Families Act created a state insurance program, and January 2026 was the moment claims opened. It covers four situations: bonding with a new child, care for a family member with a serious health condition, your own serious health condition, and certain military needs of a family member. The weekly benefit is 80 percent of what you earned on average over the prior 12 months, with a floor of $100 and a ceiling of $900. The ceiling stays at $900 in 2026 and 2027; after that the law indexes it to consumer prices in the Philadelphia area.
Two examples show where the ceiling bites. A cashier averaging $700 a week would receive $560 a week. A project engineer averaging $1,400 reaches 80 percent at $1,120, which the cap cuts to $900. Anyone earning more than $1,125 a week therefore gets the flat maximum. Over a full 12-week parental leave, the maximum adds up to $10,800.
Paid family leave in your state
Delaware Paid Leave (Healthy Delaware Families Act)
Up to 12 weeks
| Weeks payable from your plan | 8 |
| Maximum weekly benefit 2026 | $900.00 |
| Most you could receive | $7,200 |
Your benefit is a share of your own wages, up to the maximum.
Who qualifies, and how the weeks are split
Eligibility is tied to one employer: a year of employment and 1,250 hours worked there. The test resembles the federal FMLA, which uses 1,250 hours too, but Delaware Paid Leave pays benefits, which the FMLA never does. The annual total is 12 weeks combined. Parental leave can use the whole amount in a year, while medical leave for yourself and family caregiving are each capped at 6 weeks in any 24-month period. A worker who needs surgery and later cares for a parent may find that the two caps, not the 12-week total, set the limit. Paid family leave in other states compares the programs.
Wage, tips and hours
Section 902 of Title 19 sets Delaware's minimum wage at $15.00 an hour effective January 1, 2025. A full-time year at that rate is $31,200. For tipped jobs, the employer may pay $2.23 an hour to staff who regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips, but the cash wage plus tips must reach $15.00 for each hour. Weekly overtime for covered employees is set by the federal rule of time and a half after 40 hours, with the federal exempt salary of $684 a week.
Do your tips cover the minimum wage?
Employer top-up owed per hour
$8.77
| Cash wage | $2.23 |
| Cash wage + tips | $6.23 |
| Minimum wage in Delaware | $15.00 |
| Top-up over a 30-hour week | $263 |
Meals and the last paycheck
The meal break is 30 consecutive unpaid minutes for anyone working 7.5 or more consecutive hours, taken after the first 2 hours of work and before the last 2. Delaware is unusual in using one rule for every kind of departure: whether an employee quits, resigns, is discharged, suspended or laid off, wages are due on the later of the next regular payday or three business days after the last day worked. Vacation and other wage supplements are owed only as an agreement or policy provides. The Office of Wage and Hour in the Division of Industrial Affairs takes complaints and rules on each one.
Delaware employment rules at a glance, 2026
Minimum wage schedule
| From | Who it covers | Rate | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2025 | Statewide | $15.00 | unchanged throughout 2026; no automatic indexing in the statute |
Workers covered by both laws get the higher rate. Read the Delaware rule.
Overtime
Time and a half after 40 hours in a week. The salary test for exempt employees is the federal $684 a week. No general state overtime statute found in Title 19; private-sector overtime follows the federal FLSA (time and a half after 40 hours). source
Sick leave and family leave
Delaware has no statewide paid sick leave law for private employers; leave depends on the employer's policy or a city ordinance. No statewide paid sick leave law for private employers; own serious health condition is covered by Delaware Paid Leave insurance (up to 6 weeks every 24 months) since 2026-01-01. source
Delaware Paid Leave (Healthy Delaware Families Act): up to 12 weeks, benefits payable since January 1, 2026, 80% of average weekly wages over the prior 12 months, minimum $100/week, maximum $900/week, maximum $900.00 a week in 2026. own serious health condition: up to 6 weeks every 24 months; family care and military exigency: 6 weeks every 24 months; parental: 12 weeks per year; 12 weeks combined per year. source
Final paycheck and unused vacation
Fired or laid off: the later of the next regular payday or 3 business days after the last day worked. Quitting: the later of the next regular payday or 3 business days after the last day worked. Vacation: vacation and other wage supplements are owed only as provided by the employer's agreement or policy (19 Del. C. § 1109). source vacation rule
Meal and rest breaks
Meal: unpaid 30 consecutive minutes for 7.5 or more consecutive hours, after the first 2 hours and before the last 2 hours. No paid rest break is required for adults. source
Unions and dismissal
Delaware has no right-to-work law, so a union contract may require a fee from the workers it covers. Employment is at will: either side may end it at any time, except for an illegal reason such as discrimination or retaliation, or against a contract.
Also worth knowing in Delaware
- Delaware Paid Leave claims opened on January 1, 2026: eligible workers (12 months and 1,250 hours with the same employer) get 80% of wages up to $900 a week. source
- The $900 maximum weekly paid-leave benefit is fixed for 2026 and 2027, then indexed to the Philadelphia-area CPI. source
- Final wages are due on the later of the next regular payday or three business days after the last day worked, whether the worker quits or is fired. source