Your pay rights in Delaware

An Act to Amend Title 19 of the Delaware Code Relating to Employment Practices (House Substitute 2 for House Bill 105) (19 Del. C. § 709C (85 Del. Laws, c. 228))

Job posting rules take effect September 26, 2027

Starting September 26, 2027: Delaware employers with 26 or more employees must show the pay or pay range and a general description of benefits in every job posting. Employers already may not ask about your pay history.

Who is covered

Public and private employers with 26 or more employees; employers with 25 or fewer are exempt. It covers jobs located in Delaware, plus remote jobs (other than international ones) offered by an employer based in Delaware. Both internal and external postings are covered. Federal government jobs are not covered.

What a job posting must show

The hourly or salary pay, or the hourly or salary pay range, set in good faith. How wide the range is counts when judging good faith.
A general description of the benefits and other compensation for the job.
For commission-based jobs (fully or partly), a statement that the job pays commission instead of a range.
For tipped jobs, a statement that the job is tipped, plus the base wage or base wage range.
For union jobs, the pay or range approved for disclosure in the collective bargaining agreement.

Pay history

Already in effect: employers may not ask you, or your current or past employers, about your pay history, or screen you based on it. They may confirm it only after you have accepted an offer that includes pay terms. You can still discuss and negotiate your pay expectations.

What you can do

From September 26, 2027, see the pay range and a benefits description in internal and external postings.
If the job was not posted, get the pay range and a benefits description before any offer or talk about pay, and at any time you ask (from September 26, 2027).
Complain to the Delaware Department of Labor. From September 26, 2027, it is illegal for the employer to fire or discriminate against you for complaining or taking part in a case.

Where to report a posting without pay

Delaware Department of Labor

Posting law (from September 26, 2027): a written warning for a first offense, then $500 to $10,000 per violation. Each job opening counts as one violation, however many times it is posted. Retaliating against someone who complains: $500 to $10,000 each time. Pay history law (in force now, 19 Del. C. § 709B): $1,000 to $5,000 for a first offense and $5,000 to $10,000 for each later one.

Sources

The posting rule is not in effect yet. It starts September 26, 2027, two years after the Governor signed it on September 26, 2025; the Delaware Code marks § 709C '[Effective Sept. 26, 2027]'. Temporary, interim or acting jobs that need an immediate hire are exempt. For union jobs, the rule applies once the union contract is signed, amended, renewed or replaced after the effective date. Job boards that repost ads aren't liable, and neither is an employer whose ad was copied without its consent. The Department of Labor hasn't yet said which office will take complaints. The pay history ban (§ 709B) has been law since 2017.