Delaware Issues Regulations for Paid Family and Medical Leave – The Delaware Division of Paid Leave has published final regulations for the state’s paid family and medical leave program (PFML), which begins providing benefits Jan. 1, 2026. The new regulations amend the previous rules to provide new definitions of “application year” and “employee” under the program, guidance for self-insured employers, and modifications to information collected by the Division. There are also revisions that align the regulations with amendments previously made to the PFML statute. PFML contributions from employees and employers began in January 2025.

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On Jan. 5, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Opinion Letter FLSA 2026-4, addressing the following:

• Whether, in a jurisdiction where the state minimum wage exceeds the federal minimum wage, an employer must use the federal minimum to determine if it has satisfied the minimum pay standard in Section 7(i)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); and
• Whether tips must be considered compensation when determining if more than half of an employee’s earnings come from commissions, as required by Section7(i)(2).

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On Jan. 5, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Opinion Letter FLSA2026-2, responding to an employee’s question regarding whether Section 7(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) permits an employer to exclude certain bonus payments from an employee’s regular rate of pay. The question concerns an employer’s bonus plan that allows employees to earn supplemental performance-based bonuses for each pay period. If earned, these bonuses would apply to all hours worked in that pay period.

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Holiday weeks can pose an extra administrative challenge to employers with employees on leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In addition to their regular FMLA obligations, employers must figure out how to calculate employees’ leave use when the leave coincides with a holiday. FMLA regulations and an opinion letter from the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Wage and Hour Division help clarify how employers should address holidays when calculating employees’ FMLA leave. The letter distinguishes between full and partial weeks taken during a week with a holiday and explains the proper way to determine the portion of a workweek used.

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In 2026, the employee benefits market is being shaped by a variety of trends, including regulatory volatility, shifting compliance priorities, accelerated cost pressures, and ever-evolving workplace demands. Employers should brace for a compliance environment defined by change and uncertainty. Streamlined Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting requirements should help reduce administrative strain, while potential updates to federal mental health parity regulations remain critical to monitor. The sweeping One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) introduced extensive changes to employee benefit plans, most of which take effect in 2026. Added to this are shifting regulatory priorities under the Trump administration, ongoing benefits-related litigation, and changes to federal budgets and staffing.

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Question: Are employers required to include a pay range in job ads?

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In 2026, the labor market continues to evolve in meaningful ways. Employers are navigating a labor market shaped by technological disruption, shifting worker priorities, and economic uncertainty, all while striving to attract and retain top talent. These shifts present an opportunity for organizations to rethink how they approach hiring, development, and retention. The trend topics include gig work, artificial intelligence, burnout, layoffs, and labor market stability.

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2026 State Overtime Salary Levels – Under federal and state laws, employers must compensate their employees with 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for any hours of overtime work. However, under these laws, employees who work in an executive, administrative, or professional (EAP) capacity are exempt from overtime pay if they satisfy, among other things, the salary level requirements for their exemption. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the current salary level requirement for the EAP exemption is $684 per week ($35,568 per year) on a salary or fee basis (with an exception for highly compensated employees). While these salary levels apply in most U.S. jurisdictions, some states have adopted EAP salary levels higher than the ones required by the FLSA. These states are Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, New York, and Washington.

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The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave a year for certain family and medical reasons, including being unable to work due to the employee’s serious health condition. When an employee’s FMLA leave entitlement expires, the employee may be unable to return to work because of the continuation of their serious health condition.

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Understanding the latest employee benefits trends can help organizations plan ahead and offer a benefits package that meets the evolving needs of workers. Here are five trends shaping benefits in 2026:

1. Rising health care costs — Surveys project that health care costs are likely to increase by 8% to, in many cases, as much as over 15% in 2026. Employers will absorb much of the costs.

2. Continued popularity of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs — A RAND report revealed that 12% of Americans have used GLP-1 medications for weight loss, and 14% are interested in using the drugs. Moreover, the number of prescriptions for the drugs has more than tripled since 2020.

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