# Delaware — State paid family and medical leave program contribution rates, benefits, and eligibility

For Delaware, program name is Delaware Paid Leave; benefits start date is January 1, 2026; total contribution rate is 0.80 percent; employer share is split between employer and employee; employee share is split between employer and employee, recorded from its source on 2026-08-15.

- **State:** Delaware _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Program name:** Delaware Paid Leave
- **Benefits start date:** January 1, 2026
- **Total contribution rate:** 0.80 percent
- **Employer share:** split between employer and employee
- **Employee share:** split between employer and employee
- **Maximum weekly benefit:** $900
- **Wage replacement formula:** 80 percent of the individual's average weekly wage, up to a cap of $900 per week in the program's first two years (2026 and 2027)
- **Family leave duration:** 12 weeks _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Medical leave duration:** 12 weeks _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Employer size threshold:** 10 employees _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Covered reasons:** bonding, own serious health condition, family caregiving, military exigency _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Program website:** https://labor.delaware.gov/delaware-paid-leave/

## What the source says

> Colorado’s law was expanded beginning in 2026 to include an additional 12 weeks of leave for parents with babies in a neonatal intensive care unit—the first state in the country to offer NICU leave. The law also includes both military exigency leave and “safe” leave for survivors of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault. See <https://famli.colorado.gov/individuals-and-families> Colorado Department of Labor and Employment . In Maryland, the rate that workers and employers will contribute has initially been set at .9 percent. Maryland’s law also includes employer-side contribution exemptions for businesses with fewer than 15 employees. The taxable wage base is the Social Security cap. Maryland’s law covers military exigency leave. See <https://paidleave.maryland.gov/employers/Pages/home.aspx> Maryland FAMLI Employers Page . In Delaware, the statute prescribes the tax rate but does not specify a limit on the taxable wage base, however, the implementing agency has set the rate at the Social Security wage base. Delaware’s contribution amounts are subdivided by statute for each type of leave—parental (.32 percent), medical (.4 percent), and family care (.08 percent)—and the statute includes a trigger that would reduce benefit levels if contribution amounts exceed 1 percent. In addition, coverage and eligibility rules are restrictive: Businesses with fewer than 10 employees

## Source

- https://www.newamerica.org/insights/explainer-paid-leave-benefits-and-funding-in-the-united-states/

Last verified: 2026-08-15. Review by: 2026-12-13.
Part of [State paid family and medical leave program contribution rates, benefits, and eligibility](https://referencesource.org/state-paid-family-leave-programs/).