Employee Time Off to Vote on Election Day
It’s a big election year, and voter turnout is expected to be high on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. This can result in employee requests to leave early or come in late so that they can vote. It’s a good idea to start planning for this now.
Federal law doesn’t require businesses to close for election day, or to give any time off to vote. This has historically caused problems for voters. Many people struggle to make it to the polls if they have work, school, commutes, and other commitments that make it tough to vote.
Many states have tried to ease this problem by having longer polling hours or even allowing early voting. States also have laws requiring employers to give employees time off to vote. Other state laws prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who do (or who do not) vote.
For example, Connecticut enacted paid time off to vote starting in 2021. That law expired earlier this year, so isn’t actually in effect for this election cycle. Hawaii used to require employers to give time off to vote. It has now rescinded that requirement since they made vote by mail available.
If you are a CEDR member, we’ve made this easy for you. We have written your Employee Handbook to include information that both you and your team can reference on this topic. We update our members about changes in these laws when we learn about them.
In Arizona, individuals are able to permanently sign up to vote by mail. This option is widely used, which makes taking time off to vote seemingly unnecessary. And yet, Arizona still has a provision where employees can take paid time off to vote.
Just to further complicate it, Arizona law requires you to do some HR math to figure out if the rule applies to an individual employee. They can get 3 hours of paid time off to vote, but only if they do not have at least 3 consecutive hours of polling time before or after their work shift.
These provisions in the voting laws are common. Alaska, for instance, gives the right to paid time off to vote if the individual doesn’t have “sufficient time” to vote outside of their work shift. The state generally considers 2 hours to be “sufficient time” to vote.
Oklahoma allows employees to take up to 2 hours of time off to vote, if they do not have 3 hours of polling time available before or after their work shift.
Arkansas handles this in a much less specific way, stating that employers must ensure employee work schedules give each employee the opportunity to vote.
Of course, you don’t have to close down your office. These laws tell you what your obligations are if an employee makes a request for a schedule change in order to vote.
What counts as “intimidation” can be subject to interpretation. In Delaware, employers may not “hinder, control, coerce or intimidate” employees from voting. In Mississippi, employers cannot terminate employees for voting or for how they voted.
The policy may include:
Here’s your to-do list to prepare:
Your patients also probably didn’t notice it was election day when they made their November 5th appointment with your office. Avoid last-minute cancellations! Have your team work that into their communications with patients when confirming appointments.
We recommend using a morning huddle, team memo, or CEDR Bulletin Board in backstageHR to get this information to your team.
Federal law doesn’t require businesses to close for election day, or to give any time off to vote. This has historically caused problems for voters. Many people struggle to make it to the polls if they have work, school, commutes, and other commitments that make it tough to vote.
Many states have tried to ease this problem by having longer polling hours or even allowing early voting. States also have laws requiring employers to give employees time off to vote. Other state laws prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who do (or who do not) vote.
Laws Change Between Election Cycles
Don’t assume you know what your obligations are. These laws can change quickly and without a lot of notice or public awareness. If you haven’t worked with an HR professional in the last couple years to review your policies, they may be out of date.For example, Connecticut enacted paid time off to vote starting in 2021. That law expired earlier this year, so isn’t actually in effect for this election cycle. Hawaii used to require employers to give time off to vote. It has now rescinded that requirement since they made vote by mail available.
If you are a CEDR member, we’ve made this easy for you. We have written your Employee Handbook to include information that both you and your team can reference on this topic. We update our members about changes in these laws when we learn about them.
The Details Matter
Be sure to not assume that flexible voting options in your state alleviate any need to grant time off to vote. Sometimes the voting laws are seemingly so generous they can surprise you!In Arizona, individuals are able to permanently sign up to vote by mail. This option is widely used, which makes taking time off to vote seemingly unnecessary. And yet, Arizona still has a provision where employees can take paid time off to vote.
Just to further complicate it, Arizona law requires you to do some HR math to figure out if the rule applies to an individual employee. They can get 3 hours of paid time off to vote, but only if they do not have at least 3 consecutive hours of polling time before or after their work shift.
These provisions in the voting laws are common. Alaska, for instance, gives the right to paid time off to vote if the individual doesn’t have “sufficient time” to vote outside of their work shift. The state generally considers 2 hours to be “sufficient time” to vote.
Oklahoma allows employees to take up to 2 hours of time off to vote, if they do not have 3 hours of polling time available before or after their work shift.
Arkansas handles this in a much less specific way, stating that employers must ensure employee work schedules give each employee the opportunity to vote.
States Requiring Time Off to Vote
So, do you need to provide time off to vote or not? The lists below are based on laws applicable to private healthcare practices:- Paid time off to vote: Alaska, Arizona, California,* Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York,* Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming
- Unpaid time off to vote: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, Wisconsin
- No specific requirement to give time off to vote: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont Virginia, Washington
Of course, you don’t have to close down your office. These laws tell you what your obligations are if an employee makes a request for a schedule change in order to vote.
Other Election-Day Laws
If your state doesn’t specifically require time off to vote, don’t get too excited about your schedules remaining untouched. A number of states have laws relating to election day, protecting employees from being intimidated from voting.What counts as “intimidation” can be subject to interpretation. In Delaware, employers may not “hinder, control, coerce or intimidate” employees from voting. In Mississippi, employers cannot terminate employees for voting or for how they voted.
You Need a Policy
Your Employee Handbook needs an Election Day policy. This helps to ensure you are following the law, being consistent, and providing transparency to your team.The policy may include:
- Encouraging employees to vote early, if that is an option in your state;
- Encouraging employees to make plans to vote before or after work;
- How far in advance an employee needs to make a request for time off to vote;
- The amount of voting time that can be requested;
- If time off to vote is paid or unpaid;
- Who is eligible to request time off to vote (this may be an option for everyone, or only for team members whose work schedules specifically interfere with the ability to vote); and,
- How the schedule will be adjusted in response to requests (for instance if it is ultimately up to the employer to determine what specific time can be taken away from the office to vote).
What To Do Now to Prepare For Election Day
The last thing you need on a busy patient day is to have an employee showing up asking if they can leave early. Or getting a call from the state labor board about violating a state law about giving employees advance notice of voting rights.Here’s your to-do list to prepare:
- Verify your state law
- Make sure your written policy is up to date
- If you don’t have a policy, work with a professional to write one!
- Encourage employees to vote early if that is available in your area
- Give employees a deadline for asking for time off to vote
- Review employee work schedules if any time off requests come in
Your patients also probably didn’t notice it was election day when they made their November 5th appointment with your office. Avoid last-minute cancellations! Have your team work that into their communications with patients when confirming appointments.
We recommend using a morning huddle, team memo, or CEDR Bulletin Board in backstageHR to get this information to your team.
