THIS WEEK in DOVER

By Tyler Micik

This was a busy week for the Delaware General Assembly – especially the House of Representatives. Most notably, SS 1 for SB 21 was passed by the House and signed by the Governor. The bill makes changes to Delaware’s corporation law. The State Chamber and Delaware Business Roundtable released a joint statement on the bill in mid-March.
 
Earlier today, Governor Meyer presented his FY26 budget reset. His plan includes updating Delaware’s tax code by adding three new tax brackets of $125,000, $250,000, and $500,000. It also includes investments in education, housing, healthcare, and government efficiency and transparency. You can watch the full recording of his budget address here.
 
Additionally, there are several bills which we are seeking our members' feedback on, including:

• HB 105 – Pay Transparency: Requires employers with 11 or more employees to include salary or wage range information in all postings for job opportunities, both internally and externally. Also requires employers to maintain records of job descriptions and salary or wage rate history for each employee for the duration of employment plus three years after their departure. Contains civil penalties from $2,000 - $10,000 per violation and gives the Department of Labor administrative action to enforce the pay transparency provision.
• HB 84 – Employer Sponsored Meetings and Communications: Prohibits employers from requiring employees to participate in mandatory meetings or communications that are religious or political in nature. Also, it prohibits employers from punishing employees for refusing to participate in the same. Meetings or communications necessary for their job duties or those that are voluntary are accepted. Violators of the bill are subject to civil penalties between $1,000 - $5,000 per violation.

• Chatbots (Draft bill – not yet introduced): Makes engaging in a commercial transaction with a consumer who interacts with computer technology, without notifying the consumer that they are not communicating with a human being, an unlawful practice. It provides a civil cause of action for damages and permits the Attorney General to seek injunctive relief and a civil penalty of not more than $5 million. You can view a copy of the draft here.

 
The General Assembly has bond hearings next week and will return to session on Tuesday, April 8th. We expect some of these bills to be heard in committee when they return. If you have any questions or feedback on any of these, please contact me at [email protected].