Employer Obligations and Voting Leave Requirements Before the 2024 Election

At a Glance

• In advance of the 2024 election, and before any election season, employers should familiarize themselves with voting leave laws and other employee rights related to election season.
• Among states that require voting leave, the leave requirements vary. Some of these variables include: the amount of leave, whether leave is paid or unpaid, employee eligibility based on work hours, notice, scheduling restrictions, and employer posting obligations.
• States that do not have voting leave requirements may still have employee protections related to voting. These protections generally focus on prohibiting employers from influencing employee voting opinions (e.g., candidate preference) or voting behavior (e.g., whether the employee votes).

With Election Day around the corner and voters across the country preparing to cast their ballots, it is important for employers to review and understand their obligations related to employee voting leave as well as other related voting rights. Although not every state requires employers to allow employees paid or unpaid time away from the office to vote, nearly every state either provides voting leave or another form of protection related to employees exercising their right to vote. We summarize the key requirements for employers to be aware of in this article.

States That Require Employee Voting Leave

The following states (plus D.C.) require some form of voting leave: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Voting Leave Requirements

Among states that require voting leave, the leave requirements vary. Some of these variables include: the amount of leave, whether leave is paid or unpaid, employee eligibility based on work hours, notice, scheduling restrictions, and employer posting obligations. We provide additional information related to these variables below.

Amount of Leave

Some states, such as Colorado, D.C. and Illinois, set a required minimum leave for employees to vote. The range for states that have such a minimum is generally between one to three hours. Other states — including California, Minnesota, New York and Texas — require that employers allow employees a “sufficient,” “necessary,” “reasonable” or an unspecified amount of time away from the workplace to vote.

Paid vs. Unpaid Leave

Many states — including California, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Texas and Wyoming — require that employee leave for voting must be paid. Nearly all states with a leave requirement provide that employers may not penalize employees for taking voting leave regardless of whether the leave is paid or unpaid.

Employee Eligibility Based on Working Hours

Some state laws — including Maryland, Tennessee and New York — explain that employees who have certain periods of time outside of working hours while polls are open to vote are not eligible for voting leave. The range of hours outside of work to vote varies generally between two to four hours amongst states that have this eligibility requirement. On the other hand, some states — including California and Nevada — indicate that if an employee has “sufficient” or a “practical” amount of time outside of work to vote, the employee is not eligible for leave. Still other states — including Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin — do not have such work hours restrictions.

Notice by Employees

Numerous states require employees to provide notice to their employer to access voting leave. In general, most states with a notice requirement require that employees must provide leave notice before Election Day. Iowa and West Virginia also require employees to provide this notice in writing. Many states — including Maryland, Minnesota and Ohio — do not have a notice requirement.

Scheduling Leave

Some states — such as Arizona, Kansas and Utah — allow employers to schedule employee leave during Election Day. Said differently, employers can specify the hours that employees may have leave to vote. Other states — including Maryland, Kentucky and Ohio — do not have such a requirement.

Employer Posting Obligations

Certain states — California, D.C. and New York — require employers to put up certain posters related to voting leave rights.

Other Employee Protections

States that do not have voting leave requirements may still have employee protections related to voting. These protections generally focus on prohibiting employers from influencing employee voting opinions (e.g., candidate preference) or voting behavior (e.g., whether the employee votes). Some examples of these state protections include:

• In Connecticut, an employer may not attempt to influence the vote of an employee by withholding or promising employment. Employers also may not dismiss an employee on account of a vote.
• In Florida, an employer may not discharge or threaten to discharge any employee for voting or not voting in any election, for any candidate or measure submitted to a vote in an election.
• In Indiana, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, an employer may not include certain items with an employee’s pay to influence the employee’s political opinions or post a placard with threats that work will stop, that the work location will be closed or that wages will be reduced as a result of a particular election. Further, in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, employers may not threaten injury, damage, harm, or other loss to influence — or because of — an employee’s voting decision, or otherwise use improper influence to impede the employee’s ability or decision to vote.

Conclusion

In advance of the 2024 election, and before any election season, employers should familiarize themselves with voting leave laws and other employee rights related to election season. Employers should also consult an employment law attorney for questions related to state law compliance.