Roundup: US employer resources on employee voting rights/trends

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27 October, 2020

With the election approaching on Nov. 3, 2020, many employers are reviewing existing time-off polices or implementing new policies to enable employees to participate in election-related activities. While federal law does not require employers to give employees time off to vote, many state laws do. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has enhanced safety concerns. To help employers address the related issues, this roundup provides links to some general information about voting rights and trends from organizations, government websites, third-party resources and news articles.

Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Compensation requirements — deductions: Under the FLSA, an exempt employee must receive a full day's pay for the partial day worked, as deductions for partial day absences generally violate the salary basis rule (Department of Labor)
Exempt vs. non-exempt employee voting rights (Houston Chronicle)

State law resources

Multi-state resources

States that require employers to grant employees time off to vote, 2020 (Ballotpedia)
State laws on voting rights/time off to vote (Workplace Fairness)
Voting & COVID-19: Links to state resources (Vote.org)
Voting leave laws (Employment Law Handbook)
Time off to vote laws (Labor Law Center)
Voting outside the polling place: Absentee, all-mail and other voting at home options (National Conference of State Legislatures)
State laws: Time off to vote (for primaries and on Nov. 3): The Society for Human Resource Management has provided sample policies, tools and resources for employers. Some access is limited to members only. (SHRM)
Election day leave policies — What employers need to know before November 3 (Dickenson Wright, Oct. 22, 2020)
Employer voting leave obligations (Troutman Pepper, Oct. 19, 2020)
This map shows which states guarantee time off from work to vote (CNBC, Oct. 16, 2020)
Election season and the workplace, Part 2: Political leave laws (Proskauer, Oct. 16, 2020)
State voting laws: Time off for employees (GovDocs, Oct. 14, 2020)
Employees’ right to take time off to vote or serve as an election official (Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, Oct. 12, 2020)
Voting leave: What US employers need to know as Election Day 2020 approaches (Squire Patton Boggs, Oct. 9, 2020)
Election season and the workplace, Part 1: Employee ’free speech’ and political activities (Proskauer, Oct. 3, 2020)
Do I need to take PTO to vote? Ask HR (USA Today, Oct. 1, 2020)
Dear Littler: What are our voting leave obligations? (Littler, Sept. 30, 2020)
These fashion and beauty brands are giving employees time off to vote on election day 2020 (Women’s Wear Daily, Sept. 24, 2020)
FBI warns voters about election crimes ahead of the November 2020 election (FBI, Sept. 24, 2020)
17 ways companies can help Americans vote safely (Center for American Progress, Sept. 9, 2020)
COVID-19 trend watch: Employers respond to employees’ voting concerns with new PTO and other election-related policies (Epstein Becker Green, Sept. 9, 2020)
State laws governing early voting (National Conference of State Legislatures, Aug. 27, 2020)
Are employees entitled to paid time off to vote? (22 states say yes) (Paycor, Oct. 23, 2019)

Individual state resources

California: Time off to vote notices (Secretary of State)
California law allows time off to vote on election day (Secretary of State, Feb. 25, 2020)
Paid time off to vote: Illinois employers’ obligations to employees on election day (Greensfelder, Oct. 15, 2020)
Illinois: Gov. Pritzker signs legislation to expand vote by mail, promote safe participation in the 2020 election (Government, June 16, 2020)
Indiana: List of 2020 state holidays (Government)
Maryland: State employee holidays 2020 (Government)
Massachusetts law about time off to vote (Government)
Massachusetts law about elections and voting (Government)
Montana state holidays (Government)
New York state voting leave rights (Government)
New York: Time off to vote notice (Government)
Is politics at work business as usual? What New York employers need to know as the elections approach (Ogletree Deakins, Oct, 15, 2020)
Voting-leave laws: What employers in New York should know before election day (Lewis Brisbois, Oct. 12, 2020)
As election approaches, New York employers need to be aware of paid voting leave and voting rights posting requirements (Littler, Oct. 1, 2020)
New voting leave laws in New York State and Washington D.C. (Proskauer, May 19, 2020)
New York State amends paid election leave law, again, to provide up to 2 hours’ paid voting leave (Perlman & Perlman, April 29, 2020)
Ohio: FAQ — Voting leave (P’Simer Law, Oct. 30, 2019)
Puerto Rico’s new electoral code creates two hours of paid voting leave (Littler, Aug. 10, 2020)
Texas: Voting time off (Government)
Washington D.C. enacts paid voting leave (Sequoia, July 24, 2020)

Company initiatives

Time to vote: A nonpartisan effort for companies that want to contribute to the culture shift needed to increase voter participation in US elections. The group is led by CEOs who are interested in increasing voter participation. (Time To Vote)
Vote friendly policies (Electionday.org)
How corporate America is trying to drive 2020 voter turnout (The Washington Post, Sept. 17, 2020)
Paid time off, free fries: How corporate America is getting out the vote (The New York Times, Oct. 23, 2020)
These fashion and beauty brands are giving employees time off to vote on election day 2020 (Women’s Wear Daily, Sept. 24, 2020)
Major companies giving paid time off to vote (Forbes, Sept. 11, 2020)
How Old Navy is getting workers involved in the election (Human Resource Executive, Sept. 9, 2020)
More companies pledge to give their workers time to vote (USA Today, Aug. 30, 2020)
Companies pledge time off for voting (The Columbian, Aug. 27, 2020)
These companies are giving their employees the day off to vote (CNN Business, Aug. 18, 2020)
As election day nears, law firms offer paid time off to boost turnout (Law.com, Aug. 18, 2020)
Founders of Warby Parker and Business for America: Give your employees paid time off to vote (CNN Business, Aug. 16, 2020)
Patagonia, Lyft, Walmart among hundreds of companies giving workers time off to vote in the 2020 election (CNBC, Feb. 20, 2020)

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Stephanie Rosseau

by Stephanie Rosseau

Principal, Mercer’s Law & Policy Group

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by Fiona Webster

Principal, Mercer’s Law & Policy Group

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