Voting Leave for Household Employees

With Election Day right around the corner, employers may not be aware of the laws regarding voting leave for household employees.

While there are no federal laws that mandate employers to provide employees time off designated for voting, most states prohibit employers from taking actions like disciplining or firing an employee who takes time off work to vote. Some states require employers to allow a certain number of hours of time off so an employee can vote. And some states also require payment to employees for voting leave.

For example, California mandates that employers provide sufficient time off, including up to two hours of paid time off, to employees whose work schedules do not otherwise provide them with sufficient time off to vote. Employers must post a Time Off to Vote Notice to employees informing them of state law provisions for taking paid leave to vote in statewide elections. Employers must post the notice at least 10 days before a statewide election, either in the workplace or in a location where employees can see it as they enter or exit their place of work.

In New York, employees may take enough time off to give them adequate time to vote, when combined with nonwork hours. Time off is not required if the employee has four consecutive hours off before or after work when the polls are open. Up to two hours off are paid.

In general, most state voting laws 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.

Some best practices for household employers to consider include:

• Allowing your employee(s) 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, and
• Reminding your employee(s) about relevant policies and procedures

As voting leave is a matter of state law, we encourage you to determine what the specific laws are in your state.

Contact GTM at (800) 929-9213 for more information on how we keep household employers compliant with labor laws.