A method (700) for protecting a ballast from an output ground-fault condition includes the steps of applying power to the ballast (step 710), providing a startup delay period for a DC-to-DC converter (step 730), monitoring a voltage across a DC blocking capacitor (step 740), preventing startup of the DC-to-DC converter in response to the voltage across the DC blocking capacitor being greater than a threshold value during the startup delay period (step 750), and allowing startup of the DC-to-DC converter in response to the voltage across the DC blocking capacitor being less than the threshold value throughout the startup delay period (step 760). Preferably, the steps of monitoring (step 740), preventing (step 750), and allowing (step 760) are implemented by a microcontroller, and the DC-to-DC converter is preferably implemented as either a Sepic converter or a buck converter.