Delaware tipped minimum wage 2026
The Delaware tipped cash wage is $2.23 per hour. Employers may take a tip credit of up to $12.77 per hour, provided the worker's cash wage plus tips reaches the state minimum of $15.00 per hour for every workweek. [DOL Tipped][DE labor dept.]
Cash wage and tip credit
When tips fall short
If a worker's cash wage plus reported tips do not average to the Delaware minimum of $15.00 per hour over a workweek, the employer must pay the shortfall. The Tip Credit Checker tool runs the math at /tools/tip-credit. Under the 2021 DOL final rule, time spent on non-tip-producing work above 20 percent of the shift (or 30 continuous minutes) must be paid at the full minimum, not the tip-credited rate. [DOL FS-15]
Background
Senate Bill 15 (2021) phased the rate to $15.00 on 2025-01-01. Training wage of $13.75 allowed for the first 90 consecutive calendar days (workers 18 and older). Tipped cash wage frozen at $2.23 per 19 Del. C. section 902.