Delaware to Raise Minimum Wage, Establish Training Wage and Youth Wage

Author: Michael Cardman, XpertHR Legal Editor

UPDATE - July 18, 2018: The effective date for Delaware's $8.75 minimum wage increase is January 1, 2019, according to the Delaware Division of Research.

UPDATE - July 5, 2018: Section 3 of House Bill 483 states that Title 19, §902(a)(3) of the Delaware Code - the October 1, 2018, increase in the minimum wage to $8.75 enacted by Senate Bill 170 - takes effect January 1, 2019. It is not yet clear which effective date supersedes the other because both bills were signed on the same date. The Delaware General Assembly's Division of Research told XpertHR it is looking into the matter. XpertHR will publish an update as soon as it hears back from the Division of Research.

July 5, 2018

Delaware has passed new laws that will raise the minimum wage by a dollar and establish a new training wage and youth wage.

Under Senate Bill 170, the state's minimum wage will increase from the current rate of $8.25 per hour to:

  • $8.75 per hour, effective October 1, 2018; and
  • $9.25 per hour, effective October 1, 2019.

Under House Bill 483, which takes effect January 1, 2019, an employer will be allowed to pay 50 cents less than the minimum wage to:

  • Employees who are 18 years of age or older during the first 90 consecutive calendar days after they are initially employed by the employer; and
  • Employees who are under 18 years of age.

The last time Delaware raised its minimum wage was in 2014, when it raised the minimum wage in two stages from $7.25 to $7.75 effective June 1, 2014, and from $7.75 to $8.25 effective June 1, 2015.

Delaware is the second state to enact a minimum wage increase this year, following the passage of a minimum wage bill in Massachusetts last week.

A request for comment from Gov. John Carney had not been returned as of the time of publication.