DESIGNATING MARCH 26, 2026, AS "EQUAL PAY DAY" IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE.

Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Rep. Ross Levin & Rep. Heffernan & Sen. Lockman

Reps. Berry, Bush, Carson, Gorman, Griffith, Harris, K. Johnson, Minor-Brown, Morrison, Osienski, Romer, D. Short, Bolden; Sens. Cruce, Hansen, Hocker, Hoffner, Huxtable, Pinkney, Sokola, Townsend

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 110

DESIGNATING MARCH 26, 2026, AS "EQUAL PAY DAY" IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE.

WHEREAS, more than 60 years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, women, especially women of color and single mothers, continue to suffer the consequences of unequal pay; and

WHEREAS, the wage gap impacts women in all aspects of life, from the ability to pay off student debt to grappling with the costs of childcare, mortgage and utilities; and regardless of education level or employment industry, the wage gap persists; and

WHEREAS, while March 26th marks Equal Pay Day for all women, Black women must work until July 27th and Hispanic women until October 3rd to earn what men earn; and

WHEREAS, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, women in Delaware working full-time, year-round earned on average 88% of the earnings of men working full-time, year-round; and

WHEREAS, the gap widens in examining wage data for women of color. The most current U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey shows Black women make 72% and Hispanic women make 62% of the earnings of white men, and white women in Delaware earn 85%; and

WHEREAS, in Delaware, women heading single family homes still earn less than their male counterparts; and Delaware census data shows a female householder with a family and no spouse earns 75.89% of what a male householder earns with a family and no spouse; and

WHEREAS, women are the breadwinners in close to 15 million family households across the United States, and about one-third of those family households have incomes that fall below the poverty line; and

WHEREAS, this year marks seventeen years since Congress passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which expanded important protections against pay discrimination; and

WHEREAS, the 148th General Assembly in 2015 passed landmark legislation requiring companies that award a state contract to certify that it engages in fair wage practices and will provide equal pay for equal work; and

WHEREAS, additional fair pay equity policies can be implemented without undue cost or hardship in both the public and private sectors; and

WHEREAS, March 26th symbolizes the point in the year when the wages paid to American women catch up to the wages paid to men from the previous year.

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the 153rd General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the Senate concurring therein, that March 26, 2026, is designated as “Equal Pay Day” in the State of Delaware.

SYNOPSIS

This House Concurrent Resolution designates March 26, 2026 as "Equal Pay Day" in the State of Delaware.