DELAWARE - Delaware workers may notice smaller paychecks starting this week, as the state rolls out its new Paid Family Medical Leave Insurance Program. The program, created by the "Healthy Delaware Families Act" passed in 2022, introduces a 0.4% payroll deduction to fund paid family leave benefits.
While the state touts the program as a way for employees to receive income while taking family leave, not everyone is pleased with the change.
Tammy Downs of Laurel expressed frustration about the impact on her budget: “When you're a single person and you're not married, so you don't have a double income, it’s just out of your check. You know, you're living, which is hard right now. Expenses for everything—rent's expensive, living's expensive. So it's a lot,” she said.
Small business owners with fewer than nine employees, like Kim Littleton, are exempt from the program. Littleton welcomed the exemption, acknowledging the burden that payroll deductions can place on larger businesses.
“There are a lot of programs that don’t come into play for us, and it does take a lot out of the businesses that do have a lot of employees—a big chunk out of their paychecks too,” she said.
Not everyone agrees with the concept of a state-mandated paid leave program. Robert Barger of Seaford believes such responsibilities should fall on individuals, not the government.
“It should be the responsibility of the person—me, you. That’s a decision, in my opinion, that shouldn’t be left to a government of any kind,” Barger said.
Workers in Maryland should also prepare for paycheck changes. A similar paid leave program is set to take effect there on July 1.
