By : Lisa Chapman, Esq.
Employers are also obligated ten days in advance of an election to post a notice to all employees about their right to take time off to vote. If you haven’t done so already, we recommend that employers do so immediately via email and a physical posting at the workplace. The notice can be found here. Employers must accommodate employees’ requests to take off up to two hours to exercise their right to vote if they do not have adequate time outside of their working hours to vote (California Elections Code Sections 14000 and 14001). Employees must provide two days advance notice to their employers of their intent to take time off to vote. Employers must compensate employees for up to two hours of pay.
With the proliferation of mail-in voting this year some employers may be tempted to challenge employee requests for two paid hours off to vote, however we recommend against this. Regardless of legal obligations, many local and national companies have gone “above and beyond” simply allowing workers to take limited time off to vote and are actively encouraged their employees to exercise their civic right to vote. On October 24, 2020, the New York Times identified that list to include, among others, Pay Pal, Patagonia, and Goldman Sachs.
This blog is written as of October 26, 2020. Recommendations and legal requirements are changing rapidly, so please continue to review our legal updates or review postings on relevant government websites.
All blogs on this site are for educational purposes only, do not constitute legal advice or opinion, and should not be applied to your situation, or any specific situation, without consultation with counsel. Strategy Law, LLP does not provide any legal advice concerning any matter discussed in a blog except upon formal engagement including, without limitation, execution of Strategy Law, LLP’s formal legal services agreement, and with respect to specific factual situations. No blog constitutes a guaranty, warranty, or prediction regarding the result of any legal matter discussed in the blog or any representation.
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