Compliance Stuff

Contributions to Delaware’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program have kicked in, and employees will soon begin making claims for paid leave. A growing number of states have enacted paid family and medical leave laws in recent years. Quick Hits Lawmakers recently passed a law to substantially revise Delaware’s  paid family and medical leave program . Employers began contributing to the paid leave program on January 1, 2025. E mployees can start receiving benefits on January 1, 2026 . Under the  Healthy Delaware Families Act , which was enacted in 2022, employees can take up to twelve weeks of paid leave per year to care for a new child, or six weeks of paid leave per year to address their own serious health condition, care for a family member with a serious health condition, or address the impact of a family member’s overseas military deployment. Employers with ten or more employees must register for the state program and submit payroll taxes to fund it , or create a private...

Delaware has enacted  HB 128  (“the Act”), which modifies the state’s upcoming paid family medical leave program (“ Delaware Paid Leave ”) before benefits become available on January 1, 2026. The Act became effective immediately upon enactment on July 30, 2025.  The Act significantly amends the provisions governing how an employer’s paid leave policies integrate with and coordinate with Delaware Paid Leave benefits . First, the Act provides that Delaware Paid Leave is the primary payor of benefits . As such, an employer’s disability insurance benefits may be offset by Delaware Paid Leave, per the terms of the disability policy . Other available income replacement benefits must be coordinated with Delaware Paid Leave benefits according to the terms of the policy or procedure governing other available benefits.  Second, the Act rescinds a provision that allowed an employer to require an employee to use accrued paid time off before accessing Delaware Paid Leave benefit...