Delaware does not currently have a formal “Right to Disconnect” law explicitly granting employees the right to disengage from work-related communications outside working hours as some other jurisdictions have considered or enacted. However, the state is focusing on broader worker protections, including recent legislation aimed at safeguarding vulnerable households from utility shutoffs during critical periods to promote health and safety, which indirectly supports work-life balance by ensuring residents are not burdened by utility loss during extreme weather or financial hardship.
Nationally and globally, the “Right to Disconnect” concept aims to allow employees to refuse work contacts (emails, calls, messages) outside scheduled hours without retaliation, but in the U.S., including Delaware, such laws are still proposals or in early discussion stages rather than enacted statutes. Employers are encouraged to consider policies respecting off-hours boundaries, but no mandated right currently exists in Delaware labor law as of 2025.
Delaware legislative efforts, like House Bill 62, focus on consumer protections for essential utilities rather than labor-specific disconnection rights, highlighting a state priority on protecting residents’ health and utility access more so than explicitly regulating employer communications outside work time.
In summary, Delaware’s approach to work-life balance and labor laws involves protective consumer measures and broader workplace rights but has not yet formally codified a “Right to Disconnect” for employees. Workers and employers should monitor ongoing proposals as interest in digital wellbeing and labor reforms grow nationally.
SOURCES
[1](https://housedems.delaware.gov/2025/03/06/ross-levin-bill-would-strengthen-utility-shutoff-protections-for-delaware-residents/)
[2](https://www.fairwork.gov.au/employment-conditions/hours-of-work-breaks-and-rosters/right-to-disconnect)
[3](https://knowledge.dlapiper.com/dlapiperknowledge/globalemploymentlatestdevelopments/2025/new-draft-billed-approved-by-government-on-working-time-and-right-to-disconnect)
[4](https://www.hrdefenseblog.com/2025/09/the-right-to-disconnect-in-the-u-s-what-employers-need-to-know-about-emerging-proposals/)
[5](https://www.scribd.com/document/895361750/The-Right-to-Disconnect-Act-2025-Final)
