HB 84 Delaware House · 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026)

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EMPLOYER-SPONSORED MEETINGS OR COMMUNICATIONS.

Summary

This Substitute for House Bill No. 84 prohibits employers from requiring meetings or communications the purpose of which is to convey the employer’s political or religious views, including views regarding unionization. The Act enumerates several situations to which the prohibition does not apply, including the communication of religious views by a religious employer, the communication of political views by a political party or organization, and training required to comply with civil rights laws and occupational safety and health laws. The statute also clarifies that the following communications are outside the scope of the prohibition: (1) An employer communicating to its employees any information that the employer is required by law to communicate, but only to the extent of that legal requirement; (2) An employer communicating to its employees any information that is necessary for those employees to perform their job duties; (3) An institution of higher education, or any agent, representative, or designee of that institution, meeting with or participating in any communications with its employees that are part of coursework, any symposia, or an academic program at that institution; (4) An employer that is a public entity communicating to its employees any information related to a policy of the public entity or any law or regulation that the public entity is responsible for administering; and (5) A tax exempt organization, as defined under United States Internal Revenue Code § 501(c)(3) communicating with its employees about policy issues that are relevant to the organization, its mission, or the people the organization serves, provided such communication is done in a non-partisan manner. The provision is added to the existing chapter dealing with discrimination in employment, and the Department of Labor is empowered to investigate employer practices, make rules and regulations, and commence civil actions if necessary. The Department of Labor is instructed to update, within 90 days of the effective date of this Act, the notices it prepares for use by employers regarding unlawful discrimination in employment to include the provisions of this Act.

Issues: ✓ Labor & Employment

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Dec 2025

Committee Review

Jun 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Jun 2026

Governor

Introduced Dec 18, 2025 Last action Jun 23, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HA 1 to HS 1 for HB 84 → Bill Text · 9 edits

MAJOR

The House Amendment No. 1 was replaced with a full House Substitute that presents the complete text of HB 84 rather than making two narrow edits to an existing version. The HA 1 had sought to broaden the tax-exempt organization exception by removing both the IRC 501(c)(3) definition requirement and the non-partisan communication qualifier. The HS 1 rejects those changes, restores both requirements, and instead presents a comprehensive statute prohibiting employers from forcing employees to attend meetings or listen to communications about the employer's political or religious views, with multiple exceptions and new enforcement provisions.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a narrow amendment to two specific phrases in an existing provision to a comprehensive new statute (Section 711B) with full definitions, a prohibition, multiple exceptions and exclusions, enforcement mechanisms, and a notice requirement. The tax-exempt organization exception was narrowed back to its original form (requiring IRC 501(c)(3) status and non-partisan communication).

SCOPE

The bill changed from a narrow two-line amendment (HA 1) to a full substitute (HS 1) presenting the entire statutory text of Section 711B and related enforcement provisions.

The full text of Section 711B is now presented, establishing that it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discharge or take adverse action against an employee who declines to attend or participate in employer-sponsored meetings or communications about the employer's political or religious views.

ELIGIBILITY

The HA 1 had deleted the requirement that a tax-exempt organization be defined under IRC Section 501(c)(3) to qualify for the exception. The HS 1 restores this requirement, narrowing which organizations can communicate about policy issues to employees.

Multiple exceptions added in subsection (c): legally required communications, job-necessary information, higher education coursework/symposia, public entity policy communications, and tax-exempt organization non-partisan policy communications.

Multiple exclusions added in subsection (d): religious employers speaking on religious matters to relevant employees, political organizations communicating their tenets, educational institution coursework, nonprofit training programs, and compliance training for civil rights or occupational safety laws.

REQUIREMENT

The HA 1 had deleted the requirement that tax-exempt organization communications be done in a non-partisan manner. The HS 1 restores this condition, meaning such organizations must communicate in a non-partisan way to use the exception.

DEFINITION

New definitions added for 'political matters' (relating to parties, legislation, regulation, public policy, campaigns, or joining/supporting political, civic, community, fraternal, or labor organizations) and 'religious matters' (relating to religious belief, affiliation, practice, membership, or support of religious groups).

ENFORCEMENT

Section 712 adds enforcement provisions empowering the Department of Labor to investigate employment practices, issue subpoenas, make rules and regulations, and commence civil actions in Superior Court for violations.

TIMELINE

The Department of Labor must update its required employer notices within 90 days of the effective date to include excerpts or summaries of the new provisions.

Floor votes · House Mar 19, 2026

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jun 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed By Senate. Votes: 18 YES 1 NO 2 NOT VOTING

upper

Jun 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported Out of Committee (Labor) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 3 On Its Merits

upper

Mar 19, 2026

Introduced

Assigned to Labor Committee in Senate

upper

Mar 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed By House. Votes: 32 YES 6 NO 3 ABSENT

lower

Mar 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

Amendment HA 1 to HS 1 - Passed In House by Voice Vote

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported Out of Committee (Labor) in House with 7 Favorable, 1 On Its Merits

lower

Jan 29, 2026

Introduced

Amendment HA 1 to HS 1 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

lower

Dec 18, 2025

Introduced

Adopted in lieu of the original bill HB 84, and Assigned to Labor Committee in House

lower

8 primary · 0 co-sponsors