In every US election season, workers are left to wonder whether or not they are eligible to get some time off for the Election Day so they can cast their ballots. When it comes to the employee’s right to vote, they, like all of the US citizens, have a constitutional right to vote in any elections they are eligible for. But, when it comes to taking time for the same purpose, the answer can vary drastically depending on where the person lives. In a lot of cases, workers can definitely get time off from work to vote, but in others, they are not eligible for this. Also, in some locations this rule varies from person to person, depending on a set of circumstances. But, there are some general rules that apply to most US states and their legislature.

Length of Absence

Those states which allow off time for voting mostly provide a time period of several hours for casting a ballot. But, there are several notable exceptions. For example, Puerto Rico holds a national holiday for Election Day and those employers whose establishments are open on that day must allow their employees the freedom to go to polls between 8am and 3pm.

Giving Prior Notice

The employee’s right to vote and the work hours options differed from one state to the next, but most require that employees give their employer prior notice that they intend to vote. If they do not give notice, they will not be able to rely on the protections provided by the law. But in general, even if a state does not explicitly require notice, it is useful to give it anyway so that the employers can organize other workers to cover the same shift or part of it.

Absent Legal Protection

In those cases where the state provides no protection of the employee’s right to vote and the individual employer is not ready to allow their employees to leave work to this purpose, there are workaround solutions. Mainly, the voters should inform themselves on the state’s laws that regulate early or absentee voting procedures. In that case, workers will be able to cast their ballot even if they absolutely have no means of getting to the voting location on the Election Day.

Cases where Voter Rights were Denied through Illegal Employer Actions

30 states in the US have laws that allow employees to get time off work to vote. 20 states out of this group have defined penalties for those employers who keep workers from their guaranteed right to vote. Here, many states, in fact, have very strict penalties. But, many other states either do have employee’s right to vote laws but these include no penalties for any employer transgression, along with 20 states that simply have no laws of this type whatsoever.

With this key information, anyone can become more knowledgeable about their rights when it comes to getting time off from work for voting on the Election Day.

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