By Tyler Micik

A proposal known as the Community Workforce Agreement Act has yet to be introduced, but will likely surface soon as the General Assembly returns to session next week. A draft version of the bill has been released, which you can view here.

The proposal mandates that all public works projects over $3 million be subject to a Community Workforce Agreement (CWA). This means that all contractors and subcontractors would have to sign an agreement with organized labor to perform work on said projects. Government contracting should be based on sound, credible criteria. Public officials have a duty to be fiscally responsible and avoid favoritism in the procurement process. 

This is a problem for many reasons, but two are most obvious. The first is the fact that workers will come from outside of Delaware to work these jobs. That means these workers will earn wages working on Delaware projects and return home to places like New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or Maryland where they’ll use their hard-earned income to improve their homes and neighborhoods. How does that benefit working-class neighborhoods in Newark, Wilmington, Dover, or Bear? Put simply, it doesn’t and that’s not fair. The second reason is price and quality. All Delawareans deserve the right to earn a paycheck and have equal access to state work, regardless of organizational membership. Open competition and competitive bidding for all public projects ensures contracts are awarded to those who will do the best work at the best price. 

Members from the Delaware Manufacturing Association (DMA) such as John Gooden, president of M. Davis & Sons, stated the following about the proposal: 

By Tyler Micik

This week was a busy week for the General Assembly and the last before they go on Easter Break for two weeks. Several bills are worth mentioning:

HB262: The Data Brokers and Consumer Protection Act was released from House Appropriations on Wednesday and now heads to the House for a full vote. If passed, it would require businesses that sell data to pay a fee, register with the Consumer Protection Unit of the Department of Justice, and answer a series of questions regarding their use of personal information that would be published on the departments website to inform consumers. The State Chamber sent a multi-organizational letter to Rep. Griffith (the bill sponsor), the House Appropriations Committee, and leadership in opposition to the bill which you can view here. You can view a copy of the bill here and amendment here. If you would like your organization added onto the letter, please email me at [email protected].
 
HB371 & HB372 also saw movement this week. Earlier this year, Rep. Osienski introduced HB305, which would have legalized and taxed recreational marijuana in one proposal. Given the new tax, it required a 3/5 majority but was defeated having received an insufficient number of votes. These two bills, HB371 & HB372, are the latest round of proposals to legalize recreational marijuana. HB371 removes all penalties for possession of one ounce or less of marijuana, except for those who are under 21 years of age. The bill was released from House Health and Human Development on Wednesday and now moves to the House for a full vote. HB372, or the Delaware Marijuana Control Act, regulates and taxes marijuana in the same manner as alcohol. The bill was also released from House Revenue and Finance on Wednesday and now heads to House Appropriations. HA1 to HB372 has been placed with the bill. The amendment is supported by the State Chamber and gives employers the flexibility to keep and maintain their policies regarding drugs and alcohol.
 
Other bills that saw movement:

• SS2 for SB1: The Healthy Delaware Families Act passed the Senate and now heads to the Governor for signature. The act creates a statewide paid family and medical leave insurance program. Employers with 25 or more employees are required to provide up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave and up to six weeks paid medical and family caregiving leave. Employers with 10 or more employees but less than 25 are only required to provide up to six weeks of paid parental leave through 2031 and then 12 weeks afterwards. If passed the payroll tax would be collected starting in 2025 and the benefit would be available in 2026. HA1 to SS2 for SB1, sponsored by Rep. Schwartzkopf, passed and was added to the bill. The amendment is designed to help seasonal businesses and exempts any business that is closed in its entirety for 30 consecutive days or more per year.
• SB209: An act to amend Title 2 of the Delaware code relating to transportation and insurance coverage for the Delaware Transportation Authority, public carriers, and Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) such as Uber and Lyft. It requires that public carriers, TNCs, and Delaware Transportation Authority possess uninsured and underinsured insurance coverage to protect their passengers. It passed the Senate and now heads to committee in the House.
• SS1 for SB208: Failure to Pay Wages, clarifies that an employer is liable to an employee for liquidated damages if the employer does not make wages available on the next payday after an employee quits, resigns, is discharged, suspended, or laid off. The bill was released from committee in the House and now moves to the House for a full vote.
• HB360: The 2022 Delaware Relief Rebate Program was signed by the Governor. This act creates a “relief rebate” – a one-time direct payment of $300 per Delaware resident. It’s intended to help Delawareans grappling with significant inflation at the grocery store and gas pump. You can view the full press release here.

 
The Chamber is always looking for feedback from members on how any of these proposals may impact your company or employees. Please direct feedback to me at [email protected].