New Laws to Watch for in Delaware in 2025

Since Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution, the state has changed dramatically from year to year. 2025 is no different.

New laws taking effect Jan. 1 include a higher minimum wage, reproductive care insurance and the start of the state’s paid leave program.

Here are some of the new laws.

Significant changes to abortion access nationwide

All health insurance providers are obliged to cover the costs associated with an abortion. This law was signed into law in September 2024 after being introduced in April. Roe v. WadeThe Supreme Court’s decision upholding the constitutional right to access abortion was overturned in 2022, leaving the issue up to the states. This law provides further protection for access to abortion, unlike other restrictive states across the country.

The law goes into effect on January 1, 2025 and is capped at a maximum of $750 per year. There are also exceptions for religious reasons if an employer has serious religious beliefs and provides timely notice of the lack of insurance coverage. However, this exception does not apply if the life of an insured person is at stake.

Starting in July 2025, every university in Delaware must offer emergency access to abortion and contraception. If the university does not have the appropriate facilities or skills, it must refer a potential patient elsewhere. You are obliged to maintain patient confidentiality.

Paid family and medical leave programs will be billed

The program, which builds on a robust paid leave system in Delaware, went into effect in May 2022. Now, in 2025, employers participating in the program will for the first time see payroll deductions as employees contribute to the cost of paid leave. The first due date for paid leave contributions is April 30, 2025, before payments from the program begin on January 1, 2026.

The minimum wage is taking a leap

Delaware’s minimum wage will increase a final time to $15 an hour on New Year’s Day. The majority of state, federal, volunteer and tipped employees are exempt from the increase. For next week, the minimum wage is $13.25.

A law passed in 2021 allowed gradual increases in the minimum wage and ended this year. Delaware’s minimum wage in the new year mirrors that of New Jersey and Maryland. Pennsylvania still has a minimum wage of $7.50 per hour, which is the same as the federal minimum wage.

More: Delaware will see a final minimum wage increase. Here’s what you need to know

Accommodation taxes for short-term rentals come into effect

As soon as the clock strikes midnight, a new tax is imposed. A 4.5% lodging tax will apply to short-term rentals throughout the state of Delaware completed on or after January 1, 2025.

A short-term rental is legally defined as a house, a semi-detached house, a multiplex room, an apartment, a condominium, a houseboat, a caravan or other residential unit in which a tourist or a temporary guest can rent sleeping or living accommodation for a maximum of 31 % rents consecutive nights.

It does not include hotels, campsites, dormitories and health facilities. It also does not apply to apartments that are not rented for less than 10 nights per year.

More: Delaware issues guidance ahead of new tax on Airbnb and similar short-term rentals

Shane Brennan covers New Castle County with a focus on Newark and surrounding communities. Contact us with ideas, tips or feedback at [email protected]. Follow @shanebrennan36 on X, formerly Twitter.

This article originally appeared in the Delaware News Journal: Delaware’s newest laws in 2025