HB273 • 2025

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES.

Labor

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Morrison
Last action: 2026-04-14
Official status: Out of Committee 4/14/26
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES.

What This Bill Does

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES.
This Act prohibits employers from asking employees or potential employees about political preferences, including donations the employee makes to candidates for office or political committees.
It also prohibits employers from taking any adverse action against an employee based on political affiliation or preference.
The prohibition does not apply if a political affiliation or preference is a bona fide occupational qualification of the employment.

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HA 1

1 • Morrison

PWB 4/14/26

Plain English: Legislation Document SPONSOR: Rep.

Legislation Document SPONSOR: Rep.
Morrison HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE AMENDMENT NO.
1 TO HOUSE BILL NO.
273 AMEND House Bill No.

Bill History

2026-04-14 Delaware General Assembly
Amendment HA 1 to HB 273 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
2026-04-14 Delaware General Assembly
Reported Out of Committee (Labor) in House with 4 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits
2026-01-20 Delaware General Assembly
Introduced and Assigned to Labor Committee in House

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES.
This Act prohibits employers from asking employees or potential employees about political preferences, including donations the employee makes to candidates for office or political committees. It also prohibits employers from taking any adverse action against an employee based on political affiliation or preference. The prohibition does not apply if a political affiliation or preference is a bona fide occupational qualification of the employment. It also does not apply if employer disclosure of employee contributions is required by federal or state law.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Rep. Morrison & Sen. Cruce

Reps. Osienski, Bolden, Heffernan, Lambert, Neal, Phillips, Burns, Gorman, Kamela Smith, Berry, Snyder-Hall; Sens. Sokola, Walsh, Hansen, Lockman, Hoffner, Sturgeon

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 273

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend § 711, Title 19 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 711. Unlawful employment practices; employer practices.

(u) (1) It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to request information from an employee or potential employee relating to any of the following:

a. The individual’s political party or voting history.

b. Contributions the individual makes to candidates for office.

c. Contributions the individual makes to political committees.

(2) It is an unlawful employment practice to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual or otherwise to discriminate against an individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of any of the following:

a. The individual’s political party or voting history.

b. Contributions the individual makes to candidates for office.

c. Contributions the individual makes to political committees.

(3) This subsection does not apply if the individual’s political affiliation or preference is a bona fide occupational qualification for the job. For political affiliation or preference to be a “bona fide occupational qualification” under this subsection, an employer must establish that the employment is in furtherance of a particular political purpose.

(4) This subsection does not apply if the individual’s political contributions must be disclosed to the employer pursuant to a federal or state law that requires employers to disclose political contributions of its employees.

SYNOPSIS

This Act prohibits employers from asking employees or potential employees about political preferences, including donations the employee makes to candidates for office or political committees. It also prohibits employers from taking any adverse action against an employee based on political affiliation or preference. The prohibition does not apply if a political affiliation or preference is a bona fide occupational qualification of the employment. It also does not apply if employer disclosure of employee contributions is required by federal or state law.