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New Castle County panel reviews Chapter 7 updates and explains Delaware paid family and medical leave
Summary
The Personnel Subcommittee reviewed handbook Chapter 7 on sick‑leave payout, unpaid and political leaves, and explained how Delaware's new paid family and medical leave (PFML) will work for county employees — including eligibility, benefit levels and who pays during the program's first year.
The New Castle County Personnel Subcommittee reviewed Chapter 7 of the county employee handbook and the county’s implementation of Delaware’s new paid family and medical leave during its Jan. 20 meeting, focusing on payout of sick leave, unpaid leaves, military leave and who will fund PFML in its first year.
The handbook summary reviewed by the committee explains payout rules for accrued sick leave at retirement or involuntary separation and lists covered reasons for leave such as personal injury, serious illness, medical and dental care, quarantine and intensive family care. Chair members also summarized federal FMLA rules and cross‑references in the handbook.
Councilor Mike Migliore, summarizing the chapter, said the county’s handbook has been updated to reflect the state program and walked members through eligibility and benefit mechanics. He said employees must meet minimum service and hours thresholds to qualify and noted the county’s policy aligning with applicable state law. “To be eligible for benefits under the policy an employee must have been employed by the county for 12 months, have worked 1,250 hours in the 12 months immediately preceding the first day of leave and must be seeking leave for a covered purpose,” Migliore said.
County HR representative Neli described the practical claim process: “The employee submits a form to the state program, and their eligibility is determined that way,” she said, adding that the county will then help staff through local processing once the state determines eligibility.
Under the county’s explanation of the Healthy Delaware Families Act (PFML), qualifying employees may receive up to about 80% of regular weekly wages from the PFML program, with the option to supplement that pay with accrued leave to reach 100% where appropriate. Miguel (sic) and staff emphasized that PFML payments begin within 30 days of a filed claim and are paid at least once every two weeks. County officials said the county has decided not to deduct employee contributions to fund PFML during the first year, a decision HR staff confirmed is subject to future review.
Council members pressed staff about alignment with state and existing county military‑leave rules. Councilmember Koneko asked whether the county meets the same military‑leave standard as the state; Migliore replied that the county follows its policy 3.13 (bifurcated treatment for leaves of 10 days or less versus longer) and that he would provide the exact state comparison after review.
The review also covered ancillary items in Chapter 7: bereavement leave (four days for immediate family, one day for extended family as defined in the handbook), jury duty with pay, community service leave (21 hours per fiscal year with prior authorization), and the effect of unpaid leaves over 30 days on pension, accruals and benefits continuation.
Members asked staff to circulate the FAQ and the PFML application form county employees will use; Migliore said he would place those documents in members’ mailboxes and confirmed HR has published a FAQ for employees.
The committee took no formal votes on policy changes during the session but approved routine minutes at the start of the meeting and heard staff pledge follow‑up on specific clarifications, including a comparison of county and state military‑leave durations.
