DOVER — Legislation filed this week would raise the minimum wage for tipped workers.

Currently, tipped employees such as waiters make $2.23 an hour from their employers, plus tips. Should the collected tips not add up to the state minimum wage of $9.25 per hour, the employer must make up the difference.

The bill would raise the tipped floor to $6.01.

According to the proposal, the minimum wage for tipped workers has been unchanged since 1983, when the overall state minimum wage was $3.35 per hour. The measure would make the tipped rate equal to 65% of the minimum wage, so it would increase if the overall wage floor goes up.

It’s one of two minimum wage bills from Rep. Kim Williams, a Newport Democrat. She is also sponsoring legislation to repeal the training and youth wages instituted in 2019 as part of a compromise between Democrats and Republicans to enact a general increase in the minimum wage.

The law allows an employer to pay a worker under age 18 50 cents less than the minimum wage and to pay adult employees 50 cents less than the wage floor for their first 90 days on the job.

Both bills sit in the House Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce Committee. They figure to draw significant debate when they are heard in committee, along with a not-yet-introduced measure to increase the minimum wage from $9.25 to $15.

Legislation that will exempt unemployment benefits received in 2020 from income taxes, saving Delawareans approximately $21 million this year, is headed to the governor. The Senate passed legislation to that end Thursday, one week after the House did so. The vote was unanimous in both chambers.

More than 100,000 Delawareans filed for unemployment benefits last year and will qualify for the exemption.

The bill also provides tax relief to employers by freezing employer assessment rates at 2020 levels.

“Thousands of hard-working Delawareans have lost their jobs during the past year through no fault of their own, putting them in a difficult position at one of the worst times possible. We owe it to those impacted by the pandemic to take whatever action we can to ease their burden,” Rep. Ed Osienski, a Newark Democrat and the main sponsor of the legislation, said in a statement.

“Exempting the unemployment benefits that have been a lifeline to so many families will mean that they aren’t blindsided when they file their state taxes this year, keeping a little more money in their pockets. We’re also taking steps to protect businesses so they aren’t penalized with higher taxes during the pandemic, which hopefully will help them keep their doors open.”

The Delaware Constitution now includes protections against discrimination for people of all ethnicities after the House unanimously passed an Equal Rights Amendment Thursday.

The measure specifically prohibits race- or nationality-based bias.

“In this moment in history, I am overjoyed to create protections for People of Color in the First State, set forth by Our God and the 14th Amendment,” Rep. Sherry Dorsey Walker, a Wilmington Democrat and cosponsor of the bill, said in a statement. “Sen. Karen Peterson worked tirelessly to bring about this change in our State in 2016. I am honored to carry this importance piece of legislation, on which my fellow St. Elizabeth Alum worked.

“It is only right that we highlight the importance of equality by setting the example with law that prohibits any type of discrimination. Today, we moved closer to changing the course of history in the State of Delaware by adding People of Color as a protected class to the state’s Constitution.”

It adds to protections guaranteed by the federal government.

Legislation introduced in the House Thursday would authorize the Delaware Department of Justice to intervene to stop unfair businesses practices.

While Delaware has banned deceptive business practices since 1965, it is one of just six states that does not explicitly ban unfair or unconscionable practices, according to the Department of Justice.

The Department of Justice said Delaware could not join in on a recent enforcement action against Facebook regarding the British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, which was allowed to collect millions of Facebook users’ personal information without their consent because of the First State does not explicitly outlaw such behavior.

The bill would also ban price gouging, high-pressure sales tactics, unethical post-sales tactics, advertising adult products to children and deals involving unequal knowledge between consumers and merchants.

“Being able to defend consumers against unfair and unscrupulous business practices sounds like a common-sense protection that already should be in place, so it was troubling to learn that Delaware has a loophole in the law,” Rep. David Bentz, a Christiana Democrat and lead sponsor, said in a statement.

“We’ve seen some businesses use tactics that range from questionable to outright despicable more and more, and our justice department has been unable to take action. By passing this bill, we will take a stand against deceptive, high-pressure and coercive practices. We will level the playing field for the countless companies that conduct business the right way and protect consumers from the unethical actions of these other entities.”