Delaware — Hiring & Onboarding

Every employer required to withhold Delaware income tax must report each newly hired or rehired employee to the State Directory of New Hires within 20 days after the hire date. Employers who transmit reports electronically or magnetically may instead submit two monthly transmissions not less than 12 nor more than 16 days apart. A "newly hired employee" is defined as one who has not previously worked for the employer or who was separated for at least 60 consecutive days before rehire. Reports must include the employee's name, address, Social Security number, date services for remuneration first began, and the employer's name, address, and federal tax ID. The report can be submitted on a W-4 form or equivalent, by mail, magnetically, or electronically. Employers who fail to report face a $25 fine per violation; conspiring not to report or submitting a false report carries a $500 fine per offense.

Source: 30 Del. C. § 1156A

Every employer with more than three employees must notify each new employee in writing, at the time of hire, of the employee's rate of pay and of the day, hour, and place of payment. This requirement appears in 19 Del. C. § 1108(a)(1), part of Delaware's Wage Payment and Collection Act. The statute does not define "at the time of hire," nor does it specify the precise moment the notice must be delivered relative to the employee's start date.

Content required

The written notice must specify three elements:

1. Rate of pay — the hourly wage, salary, or other method by which compensation is calculated.
2. Day, hour, and place of payment — the scheduled day and time of payment, and the location or method through which payment is made (for example, direct deposit to a specified financial institution or check distribution at a worksite).

Section 1108 is silent on the required format. Employers may satisfy the requirement through an offer letter, a standalone wage-notice form, or language embedded in onboarding documents, provided the notice is in writing and delivered to the employee.

Notice of changes to pay terms

Section 1108(a)(2) requires employers to notify employees in writing — or through a posted notice maintained in an accessible place where employees normally pass — of any reduction in the regular rate of pay or any change to the day, hour, or place of payment prior to the effective date of the reduction or change. The statute does not specify how far in advance the notice must be given, only that it must precede the change.

Employer-size threshold

The notice-at-hire and ongoing-notice requirements apply only to employers with more than three employees. Section 1108 does not define the counting period (snapshot at hire, calendar year average, per-location count, or another method). No published Delaware Department of Labor regulation or judicial decision interprets the threshold, so employers near the boundary should note the statute's silence on this question.

Enforcement and penalties

Delaware imposes civil penalties—not criminal penalties—for violations of Chapter 11, including failure to provide the required written notice at hire. Under 19 Del. C. § 1112, any employer who violates or fails to comply with any provision of Chapter 11 or its implementing regulations is subject to a civil penalty ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 per violation. Each separate violation—such as failure to give wage notice at hire, retaliation against a complainant, or false statement concerning payment—may be penalized individually. Penalty claims may be filed in any court of competent jurisdiction. The statute does not establish a standalone civil fine specifically tied to notice-at-hire failure, but does cover all violations of Chapter 11 within this penalty range.

Relation to federal law

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act does not require employers to provide a written wage notice at hire, although it does impose recordkeeping obligations under 29 C.F.R. Part 516. Delaware's notice-at-hire requirement is thus a state-law overlay that applies to covered Delaware employers regardless of FLSA coverage.

Source: 19 Del. C. § 1108 Source: 19 Del. C. § 1112

Delaware law requires employers to provide written notice to new employees, at the commencement of employment, regarding their rights under the Delaware Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. This mandate is found in 19 Del. C. § 716(d), which requires:

Who receives the notice and when?

• New employees must receive written notice at the "commencement of employment." The statute does not further define this phrase, but the intent is that notice is provided as part of onboarding, at or before the employee begins work.
• Existing employees were to receive oral or written notice by January 7, 2015 (the effective date), and any employee notifying the employer of pregnancy must be given oral or written notice within 10 days of such notification.

Content: The written notice must inform employees of:

• Their right to be free from discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions.
• Their right to reasonable accommodation for known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions.

Format and delivery:

• The statute does not prescribe a specific wording or format for the notice, nor does it require a particular delivery mechanism beyond that it must be in writing for new hires.
• Additionally, employers are required to conspicuously post the same notice in an area accessible to employees at the workplace.

Penalties: A willful violation of the notice requirement is punishable by a fine of up to $100 for each separate offense.

Federal comparison: Unlike Delaware’s law, there is no explicit federal requirement that employers issue a written notice at hire regarding pregnancy accommodation rights under the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act or Title VII.

Source: 19 Del. C. § 716(d)

Delaware requires pay transparency in job postings under 19 Del. C. § 709C (effective September 26, 2027). This statute mandates covered employers to include compensation and a general description of benefits in job advertisements.

Covered Employers A “covered employer” is any employer as defined in 19 Del. C. § 709A, excluding the federal government. The law applies to employers with 26 or more employees. It covers jobs that are physically performed in Delaware, and remote positions that could be performed by Delaware residents (i.e., any remote job not exclusively outside the United States or specified for a particular state other than Delaware). Employers with 25 or fewer employees are not covered. (19 Del. C. § 709C(a)-(b))

Required Disclosures For covered postings, employers must disclose:

• The hourly or salary compensation range (minimum and maximum), set in good faith based on pay scales, budgeted amounts, or history.
• A general description of all benefits and other compensation to be offered for the position. (19 Del. C. § 709C(c)(1)-(2))

If an applicant has not seen a posting (internal or external), the employer must provide this information before any compensation discussion, before any offer, or on request. (19 Del. C. § 709C(d))

Exemptions and Special Cases

• Commission-only jobs: Must disclose that the compensation is commission-based, but not required to post a pay range unless base pay is offered. (19 Del. C. § 709C(c)(3))
• Tipped positions: Must disclose that compensation includes tips and provide the base wage or base wage range. (19 Del. C. § 709C(c)(4))
• Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs): For jobs covered by a CBA, employer must disclose any rates or ranges approved for posting in the agreement. (19 Del. C. § 709C(c)(5))

Recordkeeping Employers must retain each job description and each record of wage, salary, or compensation history for three years from record creation, and make records available to the Delaware Department of Labor upon request. (19 Del. C. § 709C(f))

Enforcement and Penalties The Delaware Department of Labor may investigate and adjudicate violations. For the first violation, the Department issues a written warning. For second and subsequent violations, the Department may impose a civil penalty of $500 to $10,000 per job opportunity (not per posting). Each opportunity is a single violation regardless of the number of postings. (19 Del. C. § 709C(g)-(i))

Source: 19 Del. C. § 709C

Delaware requires every employer that is obligated to withhold Delaware income tax from employees to register with the Delaware Division of Revenue. The statutory requirement is triggered when an employer pays wages that are subject to Delaware state income tax withholding, meaning the first payment of Delaware-source wages to an employee. Registration is required before making any wage payments that necessitate withholding; there is no statutory grace period after hiring or after the first payroll.

When registration is required Under 30 Del. C. § 1151(a), any employer "required under the laws of the United States to withhold any tax upon the compensation of employees" must also withhold Delaware income tax from any employee who is a resident of Delaware or who earns Delaware-source income. The obligation attaches once the employer becomes an employer making such payments—effectively, before the first payroll containing Delaware wages. There is no published Delaware regulation providing a grace period or delay after hiring; the Department of Revenue expects employers to be registered and set up to withhold timely for the first applicable payroll.

Where to register Employers must register with the Division of Revenue to obtain a Delaware withholding (PAYROLL) tax account number. The official registration is completed online through the Delaware Division of Revenue's "One Stop" portal (onestop.delaware.gov), which serves as the entry point for most business tax registrations in the state. There is no alternate paper registration specified for withholding purposes in the current regulations.

Summary checklist:

• Register BEFORE the first Delaware wage payment requiring withholding.
• Registration is online via the Division of Revenue "One Stop" portal.
• The obligation is grounded in 30 Del. C. § 1151 et seq.; no grace period or separate post-hire window is specified in statute or agency publication.

Source: 30 Del. C. § 1151 Source: Delaware Division of Revenue — Withholding Tax Registration