Many employers are unaware of state voting leave laws which, given the challenges presented by the Coronavirus pandemic, we anticipate will be heavily relied upon this year.
Most states require that employers provide at least a few hours off to vote, and many of those require that at least some of that time off be paid. Advance notice that may be required from employees is often minimal, so employers should be prepared to grant last-minute requests to vote.
New York and California also require that a notice about employees’ voting rights be posted in a conspicuous location in the workplace. Employees who are working from home or who do not report to the workplace regularly should be provided with these notices electronically.
- California requires that the notice be posted at least 10 days before the election—which is Saturday, October 24, 2020. For Monday through Friday workplaces in California, we recommend posting or sending this notice by Friday the 23rd. California’s notice can be found in English here and in other languages here.
- New York requires that the notice be posted at least 10 working days before the election, which is Tuesday, October 20 in a Monday through Friday workplace. New York’s notice is available here.
Employers in states with early voting may want to encourage employees to take advantage of that option—while offering the same time off benefit—to reduce the number of absences on Election Day.
The availability of early voting and absentee ballots, however, does not change an employee’s right to vote on Election Day if that is their preference.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd.
Make a plan to vote at: vote.org
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