Delaware Minimum Wage Preemption Statute

Title 19, Chapter 9 of the Delaware Code establishes the state minimum wage and the framework for its enforcement. Senate Bill 15 of 2021 set a graduated increase reaching 15 dollars per hour on January 1, 2025. Tipped workers receive 2.23 dollars cash plus tips bringing total earnings to the standard minimum. Local governments cannot set higher minimum wages independently because wage and hour authority resides with the Delaware Department of Labor under state law.

Employers paying below the state minimum face civil penalties of 1,000 to 5,000 dollars per violation, plus back wages, liquidated damages, and attorney fees under 19 Del.C. 911.