Delaware’s paid leave program provides up to 12 weeks of pregnancy and parenting leave. If you’re not covered, other state and federal laws might provide you with unpaid time off.
Written and Edited by Lawyers
All articles on DisabilitySecrets.com have been written or edited and fact-checked by our in-house attorney editors, who together have over 35 years of experience practicing and covering disability law. Learn more about our team and our editorial standards.
If you work in Delaware and you're expecting a new child, you have strong protections when it's time to take leave for pregnancy, childbirth, or parenting. The biggest is "Delaware Paid Leave," Delaware's new paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program, which pays eligible workers up to 12 weeks of benefits while they're off. Beyond that, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guarantees unpaid, job-protected time off, and pregnancy discrimination laws can require your employer to accommodate you.
Which law helps you—and how much you'll be paid—depends on your employer's size, how long you've worked there, and your earnings. Read on to see how these laws work together and how much you can collect during your leave.
Maternity and Paternity Leave Under Delaware’s Paid Leave Program
Delaware has its own laws requiring family and medical leave like the FMLA. Under Delaware Paid Leave, covered employees have job protection when they take leave—including pregnancy leave. (Del. Code tit. 19, § 3707.)
Which Employees Qualify for Delaware's Paid Family and Medical Leave Program?
To be covered by the state’s paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program, you must have worked for your employer for at least 12 months and for at least 1,250 hours.
Under the Delaware Paid Leave law, more employees are eligible for leave than under the FMLA, as it covers employers with only 10 or 25 employees (depending on the type of leave), and smaller employers can opt to join the insurance program. (Del. Code tit. 19, § 3717.)
You might not be eligible for some types of leave if you work for a smaller employer, as follows:
- Employers with 1-9 employees don’t have to participate at all, or they can choose to provide parental, family, or medical leave, or a combination of the three.
- Employers with 10-24 employees must comply only with the parental leave provisions (time off because of the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a new child), but they can opt to provide medical and/or family leave too.
- Employers with 25 or more employees must provide all three types of leave coverage: parental, medical, and family leave. (Del. Code tit. 19, § 3701(7).)
So, if you work for an employer with 25 or more employees, you’ll be able to take job-protected time off during your pregnancy for medical reasons. But if you work for an employer with 10-24 employees, you might not be covered before your baby is born, depending on which leave provisions your employer participates in.
How Much Does Delaware Paid Leave Pay?
The Delaware Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program pays 80% of your average weekly wages (AWW) during the 12 months before your leave begins—up to $900 per week in 2026 and 2027. (After 2027, the maximum benefit is adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index.) The minimum benefit amount is $100 per week or your full weekly wage, if your AWW is less than $100. (Del. Code tit. 19, § 3704.)
How Long Is Leave Under Delaware's Paid Leave Program?
Under Delaware's paid leave law, eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of total leave per year (including medical leave, family leave, and bonding leave). You’ll be allowed to use all 12 weeks for parental leave to care for a new child if you want to, but you can only use 6 weeks every 24 months for medical leave or leave to take care of a family member (other than a new child). (Del. Code tit. 19, § 3703.)
Can Delaware Paid Leave Be Taken Intermittently?
Under Delaware’s paid leave law, you can take both medical and family leave intermittently or as reduced-schedule leave.
Taking reduced-schedule or intermittent leave can't reduce your leave entitlement by more than the amount of leave actually taken. (Del. Code tit. 19, § 3706.) So, if you take two days of leave one week and three days of leave the next week, you’ve used only five days of leave (one week) even though you spread it out over two weeks. Likewise, your weekly benefit is prorated based on the amount of leave you take. So if your benefit amount is $800 per week, you’d get $320 for the two days you took the first week and $480 for the three days you took the second week.
Intermittent leave under the state’s paid leave law must be taken in one-day intervals. (In contrast, unpaid FMLA leave can be taken in as little as one-hour intervals.)
Can Two Parents Take Leave at the Same Time?
When two parents work for the same company, their employer can limit their parental or family leave to 12 weeks combined. Medical leave isn’t affected, so if you use six weeks of parental leave, you’ll still have six weeks of medical leave available. (Del. Code tit. 19, § 3703(b).)
How Do You Apply for Delaware Paid Leave?
To receive Delaware Paid Leave benefits, you’ll need to file a claim online through the Delaware LaborFirst Claimant Portal.
If your employer has a private plan, check with your HR department or manager for instructions on how to file a claim. Employers can choose to provide a private plan with benefits that are at least as generous as the state insurance program. (Del. Code tit. 19, § 3716.)
Other Maternity and Parental Leave Laws in Delaware
Not everyone qualifies for Delaware Paid Leave, but several other state and federal laws protect your right to take time off when you’re expecting a new child. The FMLA and state and federal reasonable accommodation laws give you the right to take time off, but don’t provide cash benefits. There are two main types of laws that might protect you if you need pregnancy leave:
- laws prohibiting pregnancy discrimination, and
- laws that require pregnancy leave.
Protections Under Delaware's Discrimination in Employment Law
Delaware's Discrimination in Employment Act prohibits employers from making job decisions based on sex and pregnancy. The law also requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees. (Del. Code tit. 19, § 711(b).)
A reasonable accommodation means changes to the job or facilities allowing an employee to continue to work. It could include changes like:
- time off work to recover from childbirth
- temporary transfer to a less strenuous position
- more frequent breaks
- modified work schedules, and
- light duty.
Delaware employers with four or more employees must follow this discrimination law. (Del. Code tit. 19, § 710(7).)
Time Off Under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act
The federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) applies to employers with at least 15 employees. This federal law doesn’t require employers to give pregnant employees time off work. But it does require employers to treat employees who can’t work due to pregnancy the same as employees who are temporarily disabled for other reasons, such as injuries or serious illnesses. (42 U.S.C. § 2000e(k).)
For instance, if your employer allows another employee to take time off to recover from surgery, you must also be allowed to take time off when you can’t work because of your pregnancy.
Leave as a Reasonable Accommodation Under the PWFA
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) is a federal law that requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees who need them because of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions unless doing so would create an undue hardship for the business. (42 U.S.C. § 2000gg-1.) As under Delaware’s employment discrimination law, time off work can be a reasonable accommodation under the PWFA.
(Learn when you might be able to take time off as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).)
Pregnancy Leave in Delaware Under the FMLA
The federal FMLA gives eligible employees the right to take up to 12 weeks off work in a one-year period for serious health conditions, including pregnancy and childbirth. (29 C.F.R. § 825.100.) But the FMLA doesn’t cover all Delaware workers. To be eligible for FMLA leave for pregnancy, you must:
- work for an employer with at least 50 employees within 75 miles of the worksite
- have worked for the employer for at least 12 months, and
- have worked at least 1,250 hours for your employer during the 12 months immediately before your leave begins.
The FMLA allows eligible employees to take pregnancy leave intermittently if it's medically necessary. For example, if you have a prenatal check-up, you can use a couple of hours of FMLA leave and then go back to work. The same is true for morning sickness that doesn't last all day. (Learn more about taking FMLA leave for pregnancy.)
Parenting Leave Under the FMLA in Delaware
The federal FMLA gives covered employees in Delaware the right to take time off to bond with a new child—including adopted and foster children. This parental leave is part of the total 12-week FMLA leave. So, if you use six weeks of FMLA leave during your pregnancy, you’ll have six weeks left to use for parenting leave.
Note that leave qualifies under the FMLA and Delaware Paid Leave runs concurrently (at the same time).
Intermittent Parental Leave Under the FMLA
If you want to use your FMLA parenting leave a little at a time (for example, by returning to work half-time for a while), your employer must agree to it. You aren't automatically entitled to use FMLA parenting leave intermittently.
Paternity Leave When Both Parents Work for the Same Employer
If you’re married to someone who works for the same company, your employer can limit the total amount of maternity and paternity leave you can take when your child is born. For parenting, your employer can limit the total combined amount of leave you both take to 12 weeks. Whatever portion of your own 12 weeks of FMLA leave you don't use for parenting will still be available to you for other reasons, including your own serious health condition.
Getting Paid for Maternity Leave If You Don't Get Delaware Paid Leave
If you don’t qualify for the state's paid leave program, you might still be able to get paid while on maternity leave. Some employers offer group insurance or other paid leave benefits, such as:
- maternity and paternity leave benefits
- parental benefits, or
- short-term disability insurance.
If you’re not covered by Delaware Paid Leave and your employer doesn’t provide benefits for pregnancy or childbirth, you could buy a private short-term disability insurance policy that covers maternity leave. But you’ll generally need to buy the policy before you become pregnant.
You might also be able to use accrued paid time off, such as sick days, vacation, or PTO, during maternity or parental leave. In fact, your employer might require you to use your accrued paid time off while taking leave under the FMLA or reasonable accommodation laws.
Check your employee handbook or talk to your HR representative or manager to find out what paid leave options your employer provides.
