Equal Employment Opportunity: Delaware

This Equal Employment Opportunity policy applies to employees in Delaware under the Delaware Discrimination in Employment Act and explains how your organization makes employment decisions based on qualifications, not protected characteristics. It also helps set clear expectations for employees and managers on what discrimination, harassment, and retaliation look like in practice, what traits Delaware specifically protects (including items that go beyond federal law), and where employees can go for help, including your HR team, the EEOC, and Delaware's Division of Human & Civil Rights.

The History Behind Equal Employment Opportunity Policies in Delaware

Harassment & Discrimination rules in Delaware sit on top of federal civil rights law that reshaped how employers hire, pay, promote, and manage people. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and later the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 gave employees nationwide tools to challenge bias at work. Courts then filled in the practical details for employers, including how harassment can violate Title VII and when employers can be liable for supervisors' conduct (for example, Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (1986), Faragher v. City of Boca Raton (1998), and Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth (1998)). Employers responded by putting expectations in writing and building complaint paths they could defend when a charge landed at the EEOC.

Delaware built its own enforcement lane through the Delaware Discrimination in Employment Act (DDEA), which is enforced through the Delaware Department of Labor's Division of Industrial Affairs, Office of Anti-Discrimination (often referred to as the Division of Human and Civil Rights). Delaware's statute tracks many federal concepts but also goes further in ways that matter in day-to-day HR work, including explicit protections tied to things like sexual orientation and gender identity, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, domestic violence victim status, and wage discussions. Delaware also updated its law over time to match how workplaces actually operate, including modern pay transparency expectations and, more recently, clearer protection for traits historically associated with race (like hair texture and protective hairstyles). The result is a state framework that pushes employers to treat equal opportunity as an operational standard, not a poster on the wall.

Which Law is the Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Meant to Comply With?

If you create and distribute an Equal Employment Opportunity Policy for your Delaware-based employees, it's in an effort to comply with Delaware's Discrimination in Employment (19 Del. C. Chapter 7, Subchapter II).

How to Write a Delaware-Specific Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

• Start with "why" and introduce the concept by stating your organization is committed to equal employment opportunity and makes employment decisions based on qualifications under Delaware law.
• List the protected characteristics covered in Delaware, including race (and related traits like hair texture and protective hairstyles), color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and related conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, age (40 and over), marital status, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, victim status related to domestic violence, sexual offense, or stalking, reproductive health decisions or family responsibilities, and wage discussions or disclosures.
• State that these protections apply across the employment relationship, including hiring, promotions, assignments, training, compensation, and other terms and conditions of employment.
• Note that Delaware protections may overlap with, add to, or differ from federal protected categories.
• Explain how employees can report harassment, discrimination, or retaliation tied to protected characteristics.
• Include external reporting options by referencing the EEOC and Delaware's Division of Human & Civil Rights.

When to Include this Policy in Your Employee Handbook

If you have employees in Delaware and you don't have a similar policy that's available for all US employees, you should include this policy in your employee handbook for Delaware-based employees.

19 Del. C. § 716 states: 

(a) Every employer, employment agency and labor organization, as the case may be, shall post and keep posted in conspicuous places upon its premises where notices to employees, and applicants for employment are customarily posted, a notice to be prepared or approved by the Department setting forth excerpts from or summaries of the pertinent provisions of this subchapter and subchapter III of this chapter and information pertinent to the filing of a complaint.

 

(b)

1. An employer shall provide notice of the right to be free from discrimination in relation to pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions, including the right to reasonable accommodation to known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions, pursuant to § 711(b)(3) of this title as follows:
   1. In writing to new employees at the commencement of employment;
   2. Orally or in writing to existing employees by January 7, 2015; and
   3. Orally or in writing to any employee who notifies the employer of her pregnancy within 10 days of such notification.
2. The notice required by paragraph (b)(1) of this section shall also be conspicuously posted at an employer's place of business in an area accessible to employees.

 

(c) A wilful violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $100 for each separate offense.

Your employee handbook is a great place to put this information alongside any official posters.

Other Considerations

The law applies to Delaware employers who have at least 1 employee in the US.

Exceptions

None.