By Tyler Micik

​Members of the State Chamber’s Employer Advocacy Committee met last week for their first meeting of the year. The committee was joined by Secretary of Labor Karryl Hubbard, who gave an update on the Department of Labor (DOL), sharing their policy priorities and current projects. Late last year, the DOL composed a list of five goals or pillars known as the Department of Labor Framework for the Future:

1. Ensuring equity and opportunity for all
2. Fostering safe jobs and fair workplaces
3. Publishing statistics and analysis for internal use and stakeholders
4. Marketing and branding of services
5. Continued pandemic recovery

The committee was also joined by the Department’s Barry Butler and Thomas “Chip” Riddleberger who highlighted the Delaware JobLink, one resource offered by the DOL. Delaware JobLink is a self-service tool for employers to post job openings and find and hire candidates.

By Tyler Micik

The General Assembly returned to session this month in a virtual format and a number of bills were introduced that are noteworthy for employers.
 
First, SS1 for SB1, the Healthy Delaware Families Act creates a statewide paid family and medical leave insurance program. This latest version has undergone substantial revisions from the original bill that was introduced last year. Employers with 25 or more employees are required to provide up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave and up to 6 weeks paid medical and family caregiving leave. Employers with 10 or more employees but less than 25 are only required to provide up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave. Under current law, small businesses, those with 50 or fewer employees, are exempt from the 1993 Federal FMLA law.

The bill was released from the Senate Health and Social Services Committee yesterday and awaits a full vote in the Senate. You can view a full copy of the legislation here and a short summary here.

We continue to work closely with the bill sponsor, our Employer Advocacy Committee, and our members to ensure this proposal is a win for both employers and employees. On February 16, we are co-hosting a webinar with DelMarVa SHRM as an opportunity for businesses to learn more about this proposal. It is free to attend, but we ask that you register in advance here.

 Other bills that saw movement:

• HB262: The Data Brokers and Consumer Protection bill seeks to provide consumers with critical information about how their personal information is being used by data brokers. It requires data brokers to register with the Consumer Protection Unit of the Department of Justice and answer questions regarding their use of personal information that would be published online to inform consumers. State Chamber members expressed concern regarding the bill's definition of "data broker" so we worked with the sponsor to clarify the definition and make it clear that the bill would only apply to data sellers and not collectors as was the sponsor's intent. You can view the amendment here. It also contains a private right of action, which is a concern and we appreciate the sponsor's willingness to address and listen to our concerns. The bill was released from House Technology & Telecommunications Committee on Tuesday and moves to the House for a full vote.
• HB305: The Delaware Marijuana Control Act regulates and taxes marijuana in the same manner as alcohol. It allows adults over the age of 21 to legally possess and consume under one ounce of marijuana for personal use. It does not permit people to grow their own marijuana. This bill is the updated version of HB150, which was introduced last year. It is similar except for a few changes including the section on places of employment which was removed from the bill. The bill was released from House Health and Human Development Committee yesterday and moves to the House for a full vote.
• SB208: This act 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 the Senate Labor Committee yesterday and awaits a full vote in the Senate.
• HB257: This act modifies the existing fees and supporting fee structure for air quality natural minor permits issued by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. It creates a new subsection establishing fees associated with the natural minor permit program. The existing fees were established in a 1991 bill, but not codified. The fees have not been adjusted in nearly three decades and as a result, the program is not self-sustaining. This act will allow for a phased approach to increase these fees, with the first increase intended to result in funding 50% of the program costs. Evaluations will occur before July 1 of 2024 and July 1 of 2027 with recommended adjustments to fund 75% and 100% of the program costs respectively. It also requires subsequent evaluations, to occur every three years, to ensure the fees are completely funding the program. Sources subject to fees pursuant to Subchapter VIII of this Chapter, who are not delinquent, are exempt from natural minor permit fees. This proposal was introduced last year and the State Chambers Environmental Committee submitted a letter to DNREC last year requesting that any increase be delayed until 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and we thank the department for taking our concern into consideration. The bill was released from the House Natural Resources Committee and moves to the House for a full vote.

 
Bills that were introduced but did not see movement:

• HB 288: This act requires private and public employers in the state to give any employee who is scheduled to work at least eight hours on an election day two hours of paid leave in order for the employee to exercise the right to vote. The bill excludes individuals engaged in activities for education, charitable, religious, or nonprofit organizations when the employment relationship does not exist or where services are rendered to such organizations gratuitously; employees who are party to a collective bargaining agreement in which paid time off to vote has been waived. Employees must give employers two working days’ notice in advance of an election that the employee intends to use paid time off to vote. Employers must post notice of the rights created in the Act. Enforcement of the Act is through the Department of Labor. Employers who violate this are subject to civil penalties ranging from $500-$1,000 and from $1,000-$5,000 if found to have retaliated against an employee for exercising the rights created by this act.
• SB 209: In 2016, Title 2, Chapter 19 was enacted to address the growing use of ride share applications also known as a Transportation Network Companies (“TNC”), which transport passengers for compensation. In 2016, the General Assembly acknowledged the importance of protecting TNC passengers as well as other drivers on Delaware roads by requiring that a TNC possess $1,000,000.00 in death, bodily injury and property damage insurance coverage when transporting passengers. Because many Delaware citizens do not use a TNC for transportation but use other forms of transportation, such as buses, taxicabs or limousines, this act increases the death, bodily injury and property damage insurance coverage required for the Delaware Transportation Authority (i.e. DART buses) and public carriers as defined by Chapter 18, Title 2 to that which is already required by a TNC. The act also requires that public carriers, TNCs and Delaware Transportation Authority possess uninsured and underinsured insurance coverage to protect their passengers. The act will take effect on July 1, 2022. The bill was introduced and heard in the Senate Banking, Business, & Insurance Committee but not released from committee. The sponsor said he does not intend to run the bill in January.

 
The Chamber is 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].
 
The General Assembly is in recess through the month of February for Joint Finance Committee meetings.

By James DeChene, Armitage DeChene & Associates

PERHAPS YOU’VE SEEN the videos and pictures of an elected official touring a production plant, wearing a suit and tie, with a hard hat and goggles, and wondered, “Why would they (the company, or the elected official) do that?”

I’ve had the opportunity to be on tours like that for some very interesting companies including: walking through a nuclear submarine prior to its shakedown run, learning how a pharmaceutical company combats
counterfeit versions of their products globally, seeing how a UPS facility works, touring a major fabricator of intricate (and large) metal works projects, the Nylon Mile in Seaford, and more. Each of these events gave the
attendees an in-person look at how the “sausage is made”—note, if there are any sausage making facilities in Delaware, I’d love a tour. It’s a great opportunity to see how concepts come together and make a business successful.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic eliminating in-person meetings for over a year, the State Chamber created a successful Member-to-Member program. The concept is simple, but the outcomes are important. Work with Chamber staff to set up a meeting date to host your elected official—state House/Senate member—for a lunch/coffee and tour of your facility or office. That meeting is your chance to showcase your company, employees and the work they do, provide real examples of what the impact of legislation from Dover has on Delaware companies, and to build relationships with your representatives to provide feedback in the future.

I’ve written before on the concept that employers tell their story the best—and that’s the case if you’re a small firm looking to grow or if you’re a large, multi-national firm with headquarters or other significant footprint in Delaware. The current list of legislation to be considered next year, along with what will be crafted and introduced, will most likely impact many companies across the state. These meetings are a great opportunity to help educate and provide background to decision makers.

A few examples of issues that remain pending into next year:

• HB 150: Legalization of recreational marijuana
• SB 1: Healthy Delaware Families Act, which requires employers to provide mandatory family medical leave to employees
• HB 205: Delaware EARNS Act that establishes a mandatory employee IRA savings program
• HB 256: Creates two new top personal income brackets, while combining some lower brackets
• HB 94 / HB 266: Related to tipped wages

​The realities of life and work are ever present, and employers are always trying to balance their workforce and competitive needs against the backdrop of economic factors and life events. The subject Senator Sarah McBride has taken on is very complicated and gets exponentially more challenging as smaller businesses are brought into the discussion. Many of these businesses do not have full time, dedicated human resource managers, or benefits policy experts.
 
The State Chamber has a broad and very diverse membership and our position on comprehensive changes to business operations, like this proposal, takes time to develop.
 
The State Chamber has met with Senator McBride to discuss her goals for this bill and will continue to communicate with her as this issue develops. Last week, we sent the Senator a letter that outlined our initial reactions around eligibility, benefits and protections, and implementation.
 
We appreciate the deliberative approach Senator McBride has taken with us. Our position may further evolve as our members offer additional insights and analysis into how this proposal would impact their employees and businesses.

Michael J. Quaranta
President, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce