Delaware Division of Paid Leave to host public forum Sept. 28

The Delaware Department of Labor’s Division of Paid Leave will host a free public forum from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.,  Thursday, Sept. 28, at Delaware Technical Community College, 21179 College Drive, Georgetown.

The forum will introduce Delawareans to the new Delaware Paid Leave (Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program) and Delaware Expanding Access for Retirement and Necessary Savings programs.

Delaware Paid Leave is a landmark initiative to bring new strength to Delaware’s workforce and give employees the support they need to be productive workers while achieving a healthy work-life balance during times of unusual need.

Delaware EARNS is an upcoming retirement-security initiative that will provide workers and employers with access to low-cost retirement savings plans.

All Delaware employers and employees as well as members of the general public interested in learning about the Delaware Paid Leave and Delaware EARNS programs are welcome to attend. The forum will include an informative presentation followed by a question-and-answer session to address topics important to employers and employees. The forum will also illustrate why now is the time for business owners and employees to prepare, even though EARNS won’t launch until 2025 and Delaware Paid Leave won’t go into effect until Jan. 1, 2026.

Created under the Healthy Delaware Families Act, signed into law in May 2022, Delaware Paid Leave offers eligible Delaware workers up to 12 weeks of paid leave to address their own serious health condition, to care for a family member with a serious health condition, to bond with and care for a new child, or to address the impact of a family member’s military deployment. Delaware Paid Leave stands to positively impact 10,000 Delaware businesses, and approximately 70% of Delaware workers and their families.

Also signed into law by Gov. John Carney in 2022, Delaware EARNS will provide a convenient way for private-sector workers to save for retirement. Nearly 150,000 Delaware employees, many of them low- and middle-income workers, currently lack access to a workplace retirement savings plan. The Delaware EARNS program, which is expected to launch in 2025, will also help small businesses that lack the resources to offer a 401(k) or similar retirement plan.