Delaware · Senate Bill 233 · 152nd General Assembly

Employment Protections/Service Employees/Changes of Ownership

  1. Introduced Mar 6, 2024
  2. In committee Mar 6, 2024
  3. Passed the Senate Apr 17, 2024
  4. Passed the House Jun 26, 2024
  5. To the governor  
  6. Became law Sep 30, 2024

What it does

The legislature's own summary of the bill, or its official long title.

This Act establishes employment protections for certain service employees during changes of ownership by requiring all of the following: 1. Notice to affected service employees at covered locations at least 15 days before a service contract is terminated, services are contracted out, or the property where they are employed is sold or transferred. This notice must state the event triggering the notice, information…

Read the full title (652 words)

This Act establishes employment protections for certain service employees during changes of ownership by requiring all of the following: 1. Notice to affected service employees at covered locations at least 15 days before a service contract is terminated, services are contracted out, or the property where they are employed is sold or transferred. This notice must state the event triggering the notice, information about the new awardee, purchaser, or transferee, and the service employee’s rights under this Act. 2. The successor employer must retain all affected service employees at a covered location for a 90-day transition period. The successor employer may not reduce any affected service employee's work hours in order to circumvent the protections under this Act and requires that a successor employer give an affected service employee a written offer of employment in English, Spanish, and in any language that is the first language spoken by at least 5% of the affected service employees. 3. Copies of the required notice and offer of employment must also be sent to the employee's collective bargaining representative, if any. This Act applies as follows: 1. To contractors who enter into a service contract for a covered location, if the contractor employs more than 4 service employees anywhere in the United States. 2. To service employees at covered locations. "Service employees" are individuals employed or assigned to a covered location on a full or part-time basis for at least 60 days in connection with the care or maintenance of a building or property, specific services at an airport, or food preparation services at a school that is an agency under § 6902 of Title 29. Service employees do not include managerial or professional employees, employees regularly scheduled to work less than 16 hours per week, or individuals who work on structural, electric, HVAC, or plumbing projects that require a permit. 3. To service contracts at the following locations: • A multi-family residential building with more than 50 units. • A commercial center, commercial or office complex, or office building occupying more than 100,000 square feet. • A cultural center or complex, including museums, convention centers, arenas, or performance halls. • An industrial site. • A pharmaceutical lab. • An airport or train station. • A health care facility that provides long-term, acute, or outpatient health-care services as these services are defined in § 7971 of Title 29. • A warehouse or distribution center. • A building operated by a State agency subject to the procurement requirements under Chapter 69 of Title 29. A successor employer may only retain fewer than all of the affected service employees during the transition period if the successor employer: 1. Finds that fewer service employees are required to perform the work than the predecessor employer had employed. 2. Retains service employees by seniority within each job classification. 3. Maintains a preferential hiring list of those service employees not retained. 4. Hires any additional service employees from the preferential hiring list, in order of seniority, until all affected service employees have been offered employment. A service employee who has been discharged or otherwise not retained in violation of the requirements under this Act may bring an action against a successor employer or an awarding authority and these violations are subject to punitive damages as follows: 1. For a first violation, an amount not exceeding $2,500. 2. For a second or subsequent violation, an amount not exceeding $5,000. 3. Each work week during which there is a day when a violation occurs constitutes a separate violation. 4. A court may also order back pay, compensatory damages, issue injunctive relief requiring that the successor employer comply with requirements under this Act, and award the service employee reasonable attorney fees and costs. This Act takes effect 90 days after enactment and applies to all contracts entered into or renewed after its enactment into law and is known as “The Service Worker Protection Act”.

Every action

9 steps, oldest first, as the legislature records them.

  1. CommitteeIntroduced and Assigned to Labor Committee in Senate · Senate Labor
  2. CommitteeReported Out of Committee (Labor) in Senate with 2 Favorable, 2 On Its Merits · Senate Labor
  3. SenateAmendment SA 1 to SB 233 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
  4. SenateAmendment SA 1 to SB 233 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
  5. SenatePassed By Senate. Votes: 15 YES 6 NO15–6 vote
  6. CommitteeAssigned to Labor Committee in House · House Labor
  7. CommitteeReported Out of Committee (Labor) in House with 3 Favorable, 5 On Its Merits · House Labor
  8. HousePassed By House. Votes: 25 YES 13 NO 3 ABSENT25–13 vote
  9. GovernorSigned by Governor

Roll calls

3 recorded votes: 3 on the floor, 0 in committee. Each shows how every member voted.

Amendment SA 1 to SB 233 · Full Senate

Passed 21–0
Apr 17, 2024 · journal entry
Yes 21 No 0
Democrats: 15 yes, 0 no Republicans: 6 yes, 0 no
How each member voted

Yes · 21

Passed By Senate. Votes: 15 YES 6 NO · Full Senate

Passed 15–6
Apr 17, 2024 · journal entry
Yes 15 No 6
Democrats: 15 yes, 0 no Republicans: 0 yes, 6 no
How each member voted

Yes · 15

No · 6

Passed By House. Votes: 25 YES 13 NO 3 ABSENT · Full House

Passed 25–13
Jun 26, 2024 · journal entry
Yes 25 No 13 Not voting 3
Democrats: 25 yes, 0 no Republicans: 0 yes, 13 no
How each member voted

Yes · 25

No · 13

Absent · 3

Sponsors

The member who introduced it, joined by 7 cosponsors: 7 Democrats.

All 7 cosponsors

From Delaware's official records (legis.delaware.gov), checked Nov 1, 2026. Text links go to the official versions; LegiList does not copy bill text.