518-373-4111
While there are no federal laws that mandate businesses to provide employees time off designated for voting, most states do require it. Some states require employers to pay for an employee’s voting time off, and some states require employees to make such time off requests in advance. In general, most state laws regarding voting leave for employees provide that the employer:
- May ask employees for written requests prior to taking time off for voting,
- Can specify a time when employees are permitted to take voting time off,
- Is not required to give paid time off (if voting polls open for at least two hours outside of an employee’s regular shift schedule),
- May not include lunch/meal periods as part of the time off from work, and
- May not be disciplined or retaliated against for exercising their rights to take time off and vote.
In New York, employers are required to give up to two hours paid leave to vote to employees who do not have four consecutive non-working hours between the polls opening and closing, and who do not have “sufficient” non-working time to vote. Employees must request the leave between two and ten days before Election Day. The employer may decide whether the leave is to be taken at the beginning or end of an employee’s shift. Employers must conspicuously post this rule in the workplace ten days prior to the election.
Some best practices for your business to consider include:
- Allowing employees requesting time off for early voting to do so just as you would for employees voting on Election Day,
- Double-checking the voting leave laws of your state,
- Reminding all employees about the company’s relevant policies and procedures, and
- Monitoring for any gross abuse of approved voting time off requests.
As voting leave is a matter of state law, we encourage you to determine what the specific laws are in your state.
Contact us at (518) 373-4111 to learn how GTM ensures clients are compliant with labor laws.
