Once again, the moment we have all been waiting for is rapidly approaching – That is, of course, the moment when election season will mercifully come to an end…
Election Day is Tuesday November 8th and, if you ever decide to look into this in detail, you will find that there is a surprisingly wide range of Time Off to Vote requirements among the 50 states. The bottom line is that, in spite of early voting and voting by mail and all the options to voting at the polls on actual election day, most states do have requirements for paid time off to vote.
Though federal law protects citizens’ right to vote, there is no federal law that mandates employers to give employees a specific amount of time off to do so. Many states, including California, have filled this void in the law with specific provisions and sanctions. Some states require employees to give reasonable notice of absence to the employer. Also, many state laws require employees to use their available time outside of work hours to cast their votes if there is sufficient time before or after work to get to local polls.
A chart with state-by-state requirements for voting leave is available here:
FOR CALIFORNIA EMPLOYERS
For California employers, Elections Code section 14001 requires employers to post a notice to employees advising them of provisions for taking paid leave for the purpose of voting in statewide elections. A sample of this notice, as well as a notice to employers regarding time off for voting is available here:
Employers must post the employee notice 10 days before a statewide election. A statewide election is an election held throughout the state – which means this should have been posted by 10/29.
Remember that, in CA as in most state, employees can be given as much time as they need in order to vote, but only a maximum of two hours is paid, and employers may require employees to give advance