Delaware — Workplace Safety

Delaware does not operate an OSHA-approved State Plan—meaning federal OSHA directly covers most private sector employers and workers in Delaware. Under federal law, state and local government workers (including school district staff) are explicitly excluded from federal OSHA jurisdiction (see 29 U.S.C. § 652(5)). Historically, this has meant that public employees in Delaware do not have the comprehensive safety and health protections that private-sector workers receive under OSHA.

However, Delaware does provide certain limited workplace safety rights to state and local government employees through the Delaware Hazardous Chemical Information Act (HCIA), 16 Del. C. § 7701 et seq. The HCIA requires public sector employers (including state agencies and school districts) to provide information, training, and notification about hazardous chemicals in the workplace. Covered employers must compile and make available chemical inventory lists, ensure labeling for hazardous substances, and make Safety Data Sheets accessible to employees. The law also allows employees to receive training about hazardous chemicals and to access information regarding chemical hazards in their workspaces.

While HCIA is not a full occupational safety program on par with OSHA or a state plan, it does create enforceable duties for public employers regarding chemical hazards and applies where federal OSHA does not. There is no broader, OSHA-equivalent enforceable workplace safety program for Delaware's state and local government workers beyond these chemical hazard protections.

Source: OSHA State Plans. Source: Delaware Hazardous Chemical Information Act, 16 Del. C. § 7701 et seq..

Workers' compensation insurance is a mandatory insurance program designed to cover medical costs and lost wages for employees injured on the job or who develop occupational illnesses. Delaware requires every employer with one or more employees to either carry workers' compensation insurance or qualify as a self-insurer (19 Del. C. § 2306). Farm laborers are excluded from mandatory coverage, though employers can elect coverage. Insurance may be purchased through an authorized carrier or the employer can demonstrate financial ability to self-insure (19 Del. C. § 2372).

Note on guide scope: Workers' compensation insurance requirements fall under post-injury employee benefits and risk mitigation, not workplace safety standards and enforcement. While related, workers' compensation governs how employers fund workplace injury claims, not how to prevent workplace injuries or comply with safety standards. Content directly addressing safety standards, inspections, hazard prevention, and OSHA/state-equivalent rules should be maintained in Workplace Safety guides. Coverage and claims under workers' compensation should be addressed in a dedicated Workers' Compensation guide. This section remains here as a placeholder due to user search demand but is flagged for relocation in a future reorganization.

Source: 19 Del. C. § 2306 and 19 Del. C. § 2372

Delaware enforces strict penalties—financial and criminal—against employers who fail to carry required workers’ compensation insurance or do not properly qualify as self-insurers. These are spelled out in 19 Del. C. § 2374, with statutory specificity:

Civil penalties:

• The Delaware Department of Labor may assess a civil penalty equal to three times the insurance premium the employer should have paid for the period of noncompliance (per § 2374(a)). The Department estimates this amount based on the premium an insurer would have charged.
• Additionally, for a first offense, the statute imposes a fine of not less than $100 for each day the employer is uninsured. For any subsequent offense, the minimum daily fine increases to $250 per day (per § 2374(f)). These fines accrue for each day the employer is in violation, but the text does not include any per-employee multiplier.
• The Delaware Workers’ Compensation Fund can enforce these penalties through liens against the employer’s assets to secure payment (per § 2374(h)).

Direct liability and loss of defenses:

• An employer without required coverage remains directly liable for any compensation due to an injured employee and, crucially, loses the ability to assert common law defenses such as the employee’s negligence, assumption of risk, or contributory negligence (§ 2374(f)).

Prohibition from further operation:

• The statute authorizes the Court of Chancery to order an employer to cease business until they are in compliance with insurance requirements (per § 2374(d)).

Criminal penalties for willful or repeated violations:

• Willful or repeated failure to secure workers' comp insurance is a misdemeanor, with statutory fines ranging from $2,000 to $10,000 per offense, and possible imprisonment for up to one year. Each day of violation may be considered a separate offense (§ 2374(g)).

Civil penalties assessed under this section are deposited in the state Workers’ Compensation Fund.

Source: 19 Del. C. § 2374

Under Delaware Code Title 19, Chapter 23 § 2307 ("Applicability — Domestic servants and farm laborers"), the workers’ compensation chapter does not apply to:

• A household worker in a private home or household who earns less than $750 in cash in any 3-month period from a single private home or household.
• A casual worker in a private home or household who likewise earns less than $750 in cash in any 3‑month period from a single private home or household.

In both cases, the exclusion applies only where the worker’s total cash earnings from that household stay below the $750 threshold over a quarter-year. Once earnings from that single household reach or exceed $750 in any 3-month window, the worker becomes subject to the provisions of Chapter 23.

Note that this exclusion operates at the level of a single private home or household; earnings from multiple households are counted separately. The statute specifically refers to cash earnings within a 3-month period.

This section makes clear both the existence of the exclusion and the precise earnings threshold that triggers coverage under Delaware workers’ compensation law.

Source: 19 Del. C. § 2307

The Delaware Hazardous Chemical Information Act (HCIA), codified at 16 Del. C. ch. 24, explicitly applies to state and local government employers—covering employees and volunteers of the State, its agencies, political subdivisions, and any volunteer emergency services organizations. This is significant because, while federal OSHA excludes state and local government workers, Delaware law steps into the gap for hazardous chemical hazard communication.

Covered Employers and Workers: “Employee” under the HCIA includes every person employed by the State, its agencies, or political subdivisions, and any volunteer emergency services personnel (16 Del. C. § 2403(f)). HCIA therefore imposes obligations on public-sector workplaces regarding chemical hazards—separate from federal OSHA.

Key Requirements:

• Training: Section 2410 requires public employers to provide at least annual education and training for employees who may be exposed to hazardous chemicals. Training must also be updated whenever a new chemical hazard is introduced or new hazard information becomes available. Topics to cover include understanding chemical labeling, interpreting safety data sheets, hazard communication practices, recognition and safe handling of hazardous chemicals, emergency procedures, and proper disposal. A record of training dates must be maintained.

• Workplace Chemical List: Section 2406 mandates that public employers prepare and update (at least annually) a workplace chemical list, identifying each hazardous chemical present in excess of 55 gallons or 500 pounds. The list must specify the chemical name and work area, be available for employee inspection, and be retained for 30 years. The Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services can request a copy at any time.

• Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS/SDS): Under Section 2407, employers must obtain, retain, and make available the current MSDS (now called Safety Data Sheet or SDS) for each hazardous chemical. If not provided by the supplier, the employer must request one in writing. MSDS/SDSs must be available for employee review during each work shift and produced for the Secretary on request.

While the Act parallels federal hazard communication requirements for private employers, it operates independently for Delaware’s public-sector workers. There is no general public employee OSHA-equivalent; HCIA’s coverage is specifically for chemical hazards.

Source: 16 Del. C. §§ 2403(f), 2406, 2407, 2410

Delaware law lays out explicit categories of workers who are excluded from mandatory workers’ compensation insurance requirements. The two primary statutes are 19 Del. C. § 2307 (addressing domestic and farm labor) and 19 Del. C. § 2308 (addressing executive officers and immediate family members).

Domestic and casual workers: Section 2307 provides that household workers and casual workers in a private home or household are excluded when their cash earnings from a single home or household are less than $750 in any three-month period. If a worker’s cash earnings from a household reach or exceed $750 in any three consecutive months, the exclusion no longer applies for that household. The $750 threshold is specific to each private home or household.

Farm laborers: Section 2307 also excludes farm laborers from mandatory coverage. However, employers may elect to provide workers’ compensation coverage for farm employees if they choose. If no election is made, the statutory exclusion applies.

Corporate executive officers and family members: Section 2308 allows up to eight corporate executive officers to opt out of workers’ compensation coverage by executing a written agreement with the corporation and notifying the carrier (the agreement must be kept on file with the corporation). For sole proprietors and partners, workers’ compensation coverage does not apply unless they affirmatively elect it. Immediate family members of a sole proprietor or partner (spouse, parent, child, or sibling) may also opt out under § 2308(b) by written agreement kept on file.

Other exclusions: The broader exclusions in Title 19, § 101(b) remove from all labor-law coverage those engaged in fishing, hunting, and similar activities. However, for workers’ compensation specifically, the principal statutory exclusions are under §§ 2307 and 2308.

Delaware employers should review these exclusions closely. Workers who fall outside these excluded categories—including most traditional employees and high-earning domestic workers—are generally covered under the mandatory workers’ compensation scheme unless the employer makes a permitted election otherwise.

Source: 19 Del. C. § 2307 Source: 19 Del. C. § 2308 Source: 19 Del. C. § 101(b)

Delaware law imposes strict penalties on employers who fail to secure workers’ compensation insurance for their employees, as required under 19 Del. C. § 2372.

Civil penalties:

• If an employer fails to provide coverage, the Department of Labor may assess a civil penalty equal to three times the insurance premium the employer would have owed for the uninsured period. The premium is calculated based on the last actual premium paid, or—if none—on the highest in-state premium available for the risk category (19 Del. C. § 2374(d)).
• For violations that continue past 15 days after notice from the Department of Labor, the employer faces a minimum penalty of $250 per day for each day of continued default. If the premium-based calculation is higher, the employer must pay the greater penalty (19 Del. C. § 2374(e)(1)).

Loss of common law defenses and direct liability:

• Employers without required coverage are directly liable for all workers’ compensation owed to injured employees. In any action brought by an employee for such injuries, the employer cannot assert defenses such as employee negligence, assumption of risk, or contributory negligence (19 Del. C. § 2374(f)).

Business prohibition:

• The Court of Chancery may, on application, issue an injunction preventing a noncompliant employer from continuing business in Delaware until insurance is secured (19 Del. C. § 2374(d)).

Penalty allocation:

• All civil penalties collected under this section are paid into the state’s Workers’ Compensation Fund to help cover claims from employees of uninsured employers (19 Del. C. § 2374(h)).

Source: 19 Del. C. § 2372 Source: 19 Del. C. § 2374