Do I Get Time Off from Work to Vote?

Labor & Employment

As Summer transitions to Fall, political ads are everywhere.  Pumpkins, pigskins, polls and prognostications abound. Unless you live under a rock, you know 2024 is an election year.  As election day approaches, employers should be aware of their legal obligations to provide employees with time off to vote.

Unlike some countries that have declared election day a national holiday or mandated time off on election day, the US has no federal laws regarding time off from work to vote.  Although legislation has been introduced to change that policy, no laws have reached a vote in either house of Congress.  As such, a patchwork of state laws govern whether, when and how workers have a right to time off from their workday to cast their vote.

Twenty‑three states and the District of Columbia have laws requiring employers to provide their employees with a period of paid time off on election day, generally between one and three hours, in order to vote.  Seven states mandate unpaid time off.  But twenty states have no requirement at all.

States Requiring Paid Leave

Alaska (no time limit specified)

Arizona (3 hours)

California (2 hours)

Colorado (2 hours)

District of Columbia (2 hours)

Hawaii (2 hours)

Illinois (2 hours)

Iowa (3 hours)

Kansas (2 hours)

Maryland (2 hours)

Minnesota (no time limit specified)

Missouri (3 hours)

Nebraska (2 hours)

Nevada (1-3 hours depending on polling place location)

New Mexico (2 hours)

New York (as needed)

Oklahoma (2 hours or more depending on polling place location)

South Dakota (2 hours)

Tennessee (3 hours)

Texas (no time limit specified)

Utah (2 hours at beginning or end of shift)

West Virginia (3 hours)

Wyoming (1 hour)

States Requiring Unpaid Leave

Alabama (1 hour)

Arkansas (no time limit specified)

Georgia (2 hours)

Kentucky (4 hours)

Massachusetts (first 2 hours polls are open)

Ohio (reasonable time; no deduction from pay of salaried employees)

Wisconsin (3 hours)

Employers may require proof of voting in order for employees to take voting time off in Hawaii, Kentucky, Missouri, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Federal law does prohibit employers from intimidating, threatening, coercing, or attempting to intimidate, threaten or coerce, any person for the purpose of interfering with the right of that person to vote or to vote as he or she may choose, or causing a person to vote for, or not to vote for, any federal candidate.  Penalties include a fine and/or one year’s imprisonment.

In addition, most every state provides some protection for employees by prohibiting employers from retaliating or taking adverse action against an employee who has engaged in lawful political activity, so long as the political activities do not interfere with the legitimate business interests of the employer.  For example, under North Carolina law, employers may not directly or indirectly intimidate, fire or threaten to fire employees because of their voting activities.

Election day may still be over a month away, but employers should be prepared to recognize employees’ rights, and avoid any unnecessary complications or confusion when it’s time to get out and vote.  This is particularly the case with regard to early voting, which starts on October 17 in North Carolina and has already begun in other states.