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...

Key Takeaways:   Employers preparing for the January 1, 2026, rollout of Delaware’s Paid Family Medical Leave Insurance Program should review recent amendments to the Healthy Delaware Families Act. Among other things, the amendments prohibit employers from requiring employees to use employer-provided paid time off such as vacation or sick leave before using Paid Family Leave Insurance benefits.    Delaware enacted  House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 128,   amending the Healthy Delaware Families Act governing the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (PFMLA) on July 30, 2025. These changes, effective immediately, introduce new compliance obligations and clarify several aspects of the law that are particularly relevant for employers preparing for the program’s rollout.  Restrictions on Mandatory Use of Paid Time Off   The amendment prohibits employers from requiring employees to use accrued paid time off (PTO) before accessi...