This legislation requires that all full-time employees of the State, including employees of school districts, continuously in the employ of the state for at least one year, shall be eligible for 12 weeks of paid leave upon the birth or adoption of a child 6 years of age or younger. Both parents would be eligible for such leave. Employees shall continue to have the right, as they do under current law, to use accrued sick leave for maternity and paternity purposes. This legislation leaves intact the rights of persons adopting a child over 6 years of age to take unpaid leave. Due to lack of adequate paid family leave policies, many parents must return to work sooner than is optimal for the health of mothers (in the case of biological birth) and children. Granting paid leave will contribute to the establishment of parent-child bonds, breastfeeding establishment, and allow infants to receive vaccines and develop stronger immune systems prior to entering daycare. Further, a more generous leave policy will increase the productivity of workers and reduce employee turnover. This Act takes effect January 1, 2019. The Office of Management and Budget is directed to establish guidelines for the implementation of this Act.
Sponsored bills
This Act permits private sector labor organizations and employers to enter into union security agreements to the full extent allowed under federal law.
This bill raises the civil penalty for a violation of section 3503 of the Workplace Fraud Act ("Act") from a range of $1,000 to $5,000 to $5,000 to $20,000. The bill also raises the civil penalty for wrongful discharge or discrimination under the Act from a range of $5,000 to $10,000 to $20,000 to $50,000. Finally, this bill provides that civil penalties and other revenue collected will be retained by the Department of Labor for enforcement purposes.
This Senate Concurrent Resolution creates a Medicaid Buy-In Study Group to study the adoption of an expanded Medicaid Buy-In program that would allow Delawareans with incomes above 138% of the Federal Poverty Level to purchase insurance coverage through the Medicaid program.
This Senate Concurrent Resolution supports the Ad Hoc Committee for Child Support Formula Review's proposed revision to Family Court Rule of Civil Procedure 506.
This Concurrent Resolution requests the appointment of a committee to explore the feasibility of Delaware pursuing a grant from the NFL's social justice initiative fund.
This Resolution creates a Shift Worker Protection Study Group to identify best practices to reduce the unpredictability of shift worker schedules.
This Senate Concurrent Resolution creates a Delaware Youth Drug Prevention Curriculum Task Force to examine available drug prevention programs and to recommend a course of action to educate our youth about the dangers of drug, alcohol, and tobacco use to reduce the chance that youth will experiment with these substances.
This resolution recognizes the University of Delaware on its 275- year history.
This bill establishes in-person early voting for the State of Delaware. Registered voters will be allowed to vote in-person for at least 10 days prior to an election, up to and including the Saturday and Sunday immediately prior to the election at locations determined by the Commissioner. The Commissioner is also charged with determining whether such voting should occur by voting machine or paper ballot. All other procedures relating to conducting voting are the same as for election day voting. For statewide elections the statute directs that there must be at least one in-person polling place in each county, and an additional location in the city of Wilmington. This Act takes effect on January 1, 2020.