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Delaware Minimum Wage

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What’s the 2008 minimum wage in Delaware?

The minimum wage in Delaware is now $7.15 an hour That’s a 50-cent increase, and it became effective January 1 of 2008.

The hike was the second and final increase in a two-tier hike of a total of $1 an hour over two years. It was passed by the state legislature and signed into law by Governor Ruth Ann Minner. The minimum wage at the time of the law’s passage was $6.15 an hour, and on January 1, 2007 it went up 50 cents to $6.65 an hour. That was followed by 2008’s 50-cent hike, resulting in the new rate of $7.15.

That being said, it should be pointed out that there are any number of jobs in Delaware that are exempted from the state minimum wage law.

In those cases, the employees are usually covered by the federal minimum wage law, which has gone up from $5.15 to $5.85 an hour, the first hike in more than ten years.

Here are some of the industries and job types that are exempt from Delaware’s minimum wage law:
Delaware workers in the fishing industry, including those who process fish at sea;
Agricultural workers and employees of the U.S. government;
Outside salespeople paid on commission (inside salespeople are not exempt, so they are entitled to the Delaware minimum wage);
Junior camp counselors, but only if they work for a non-profit summer camp;
Inmates in programs run by the Department of corrections;
Student-learners, and those involved in apprenticeship programs;
And workers involved in domestic service in or “about” private homes.

Waitpersons and other people who receive tips may get less than the federal minimum – in fact, as little as $2.23 an hour – as long as their tips average $4.92 an hour.

In addition, mentally or physically disabled workers in sheltered workshops may receive less than the state minimum, as well as some disabled workers in competitive employment.

In order for the lower wages to be legal, the employer and/or the worker must be certified by the Delaware Department of Labor. JH