Minimum Wage in Delaware – weekly, monthly, annually

In Delaware, the minimum wage is $10.50 per hour. That is $3.25 above the Federal Minimum Wage, which is $7.25 per hour.

Practically all workers in Delaware will receive at least the state’s minimum wage level. The are a few exceptions, however, such as some student workers, tipped employees, and a few other exempt positions.

In some cases, student workers and handicapped employees may receive less pay than the Delaware minimum wage, provided the employer is specifically exempt from paying the minimum wage level under federal or state law and is certified by the Delaware Department of Labor to do so.

For minor workers under the age of 18, the minimum wage can be as low as $4.25 an hour but only during the first 90 days of employment.

Tipped workers may be compensated less than Delaware’s hourly minimum, but their combined hourly pay, including tips, must always be $10.50 per hour or higher.

If a tipped employee’s combined hourly wage, so including tips, doesn’t reach Delaware’s minimum pay level, the employer is required to compensate the worker for the difference. Check below for more exempt worker categories.

Delaware Paycheck Calculator

With this Paycheck Calculator, you can calculate your earnings per week, monthly, and per year.

How to use our Delaware paycheck calculator

1. Enter your hourly wage.
2. Enter the number of worked hours per week.
3. The paycheck calculator indicates how your hourly wage translates to earnings by week, month, or year.

How this Delaware paycheck calculator works

For most American employees, understanding their paycheck is something relatively uncomplicated. They receive a paycheck on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis, and by the end of the year, they will also get their tax forms.

For these employees, understanding how weekly or monthly wages relate is usually a rather straightforward process. However, for hourly workers, things may get more complicated, and understanding how their hourly wage relates to weekly, monthly, or annual earnings could be a bit more challenging.

That’s where our Paycheck Calculator comes in handy because it will show you how your hourly earnings translate to weekly, monthly, or annual income. For those workers, our paycheck calculator is a very fine tool!

These results are generated by multiplying the base hourly salary by the number of hours, weeks, or months you work on a yearly basis, assuming that you’re working 40 hours per week.

Minimum Wage in Delaware

So, in Delaware, the minimum hourly pay is $10.50, and it will be raised to $15 by 2025. This hourly wage corresponds to $84 per day, $420 per week (at 40 work hours), $1820 per month, and $21,480 per year.

All Delaware employers and businesses must display a state-designated minimum wage poster in a prominent and highly visible location to inform their employees about the minimum wage regulations in Delaware and about the state’s labor laws.

Exemptions in Delaware

There are groups of Delaware workers that are exempt from the state’s minimum wages. The Fair Labor Standards act (FLSA) specifically indicates which workers can get paid less than Delaware’s minimum hourly wage rate. It concerns, but is not limited to, the following categories:

• Under federal law, employees under the age of 18 may receive a training wage for the first 90 days of employment of $4.25 per hour. This applies to new employees only.
• In Delaware, students can be paid $8.93 (85% of the state’s minimum wage) at part-time jobs of no more than 20 hours a week at specific employers such as universities and colleges. It applies only to full-time enrolled students in positions like work-study programs.
• In Delaware, tipped employees may be paid lower cash minimum hourly wages as long as their combined earnings (including tips) are at least $10.50 for every hour.

Delaware overtime wage

All Delaware employees who work over 40 hours per week are entitled to overwork compensation for qualifying extra hours at a rate of 150 percent of the minimum wage (so, 1.5 times $10.50 = $15.25). In Delaware, there’s no specific law that specifies daily overtime limits.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guarantees that Delaware employees will receive correct overtime compensation for their overtime work. In case an employer does not compensate overtime pay adequately, the worker can file an unpaid overwork claim with Delaware’s Department of Labor.

What is considered work time?

Work time can also be defined as working hours of service. Work time is considered to be all hours for which employees are paid, or entitled to be paid, for performing duties and assignments for their employers.

In general, the existing rule is that employees can be expected to get full financial compensation for those hours they spend on activities and assignments that benefit the employer and that are controlled and/or initiated by the employer.

Work time includes short breaks (up to 15-20 minutes), but longer breaks do not count as work time. Hours spent on education and training qualify as work time, and so does time required for attending conferences or lectures. Daily commuting time is, however, not regarded as work time.

Please note that this post doesn’t contain legal advice. If you have any questions about Delaware’s minimum wage policies or minimum wage compliance, consult a tax professional or a tax attorney.