Election Year Issues In The Workplace

While the COVID-19 pandemic has changed some aspects of how the 2020 Presidential election is conducted, employers are facing many of the same questions they have faced in the past, such as whether they are required to give employees time off to vote, and if so, whether that time off must be paid? While there is no federal law requiring private (nongovernmental) employers to provide voting leave, at least 30 states have enacted such laws, requiring either paid or unpaid leave. The requirements of these laws vary, and many only require leave if the employee's work schedule does not provide for a certain amount of time before or after work (such as two or three hours) while the polls are open. Most of the laws specifically require time off on election day, although Oklahoma's law permits time off to be taken on either election day or on a day "on which in-person absentee voting is allowed by law." While these laws are varied, most do not address issues such as whether