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.
• Employees 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 benefit plan by partnering with an approved insurance carrier or third-party administrator.

On July 30, 2025, Governor Matt Meyer signed House Bill 128, which amended the paid leave program in the following ways:

• Employers cannot require employees to use their accrued paid time off before receiving the state benefits. 
• An employer that meets its obligations through a private plan is not required to provide claim documentation to the Delaware Department of Labor, unless there is an appeal, inquiry, or audit.
• The Paid Family Medical Leave Insurance Program is the primary payor of benefits.
• Disability insurance benefits can be offset by family and medical leave benefits paid to an employee pursuant to the terms of a disability insurance policy.

If an employee’s claim is approved, the employee can receive 80 percent of his or her weekly wages up to $900 per week. To be eligible, an employee must have worked for his or her employer for at least twelve months and for at least 1,250 hours during the most recent fifty-two weeks. The paid leave under the state program runs concurrently with unpaid leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Next Steps

Thirteen states and Washington, D.C., have enacted paid family and medical leave laws in recent years. Like employees in Delaware, Minnesota employees will begin receiving paid leave benefits beginning January 1, 2026. Employers in Delaware may wish to review and update their leave policies and practices to ensure compliance with the new state law. They may wish to coordinate with their third-party payroll vendors to confirm that payroll taxes are submitted as legally required.