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Delaware Department of Labor



Sex-Based Discrimination




The Delaware Discrimination in Employment Act (DDEA) protects individuals against employment discrimination on the basis of sex as well as race, color, national origin, and religion. It applies to employers with 4 or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies and to labor organizations.

It is unlawful to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of his/her sex in regard to hiring, termination, promotion, compensation, job training, or any other term, condition, or privilege of employment. The Delaware Discrimination in Employment Act (DDEA)  also prohibits employment decisions based on stereotypes and assumptions about abilities, traits, or the performance of individuals on the basis of sex. The DDEA prohibits both intentional discrimination and neutral job policies that disproportionately exclude individuals on the basis of sex and that are not job related.

The DDEA’s prohibitions against sex-based discrimination also cover:

Sexual Harassment: This includes practices ranging from direct requests for sexual favors to workplace conditions that create a hostile environment for persons of either gender, including same sex harassment.

Pregnancy Based Discrimination: The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions.

The DDEA also prohibits compensation discrimination on the basis of sex. The law does not require that the claimant’s job be substantially equal to that of a higher paid person of the opposite sex or require the claimant to work in the same establishment.

It is also unlawful to retaliate against an individual for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on sex or for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation under the DDEA.


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