Surely, I’m not the only one who remembers the viral video of Abigael, the adorable 4-year old ginger from Colorado, who was not shy about expressing her frustration over the never-ending news coverage of the presidential election.
“I’m tired of Bronco Bama & Mitt Romney” Abi said, as a tear slid down her rosy cheek.
While this year’s presidential election is not between Obama and Romney, I too am tired of the nonstop news coverage, Abi.
We all are.
But it will all be over soon enough, right?
Today’s Election Day in Texas and, if you haven’t voted yet you and your employees still have a few hours to do so before the polls close. Oh, and don’t forget that you just may have to pay them while they vote.
That’s because in Texas, as in many other states, employers must provide paid leave from work to allow some employees time to make it to their voting center and cast their vote while the polls are open.
Just how much time off to vote are we talking?
The law doesn’t specify the exact amount of time to provide employees, but employees are entitled to “a reasonable amount of time off” from work to vote. What’s reasonable will depend on the facts of each situation, but factors like distance to the polls, traffic, and time spent waiting in line should be considered when evaluating voting leave requests. The Texas Workforce Commission has even suggested that it would be reasonable to give employees at least 2 hours to vote (unless they have already voted during the early voting period).
But that doesn’t necessarily mean 2 hours of working time.
If, for example, you have an employee who works 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM on Election Day and he has not voted during the early voting period. He votes (and works) in Dallas County, where the polls are open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM CST. Given his schedule, the employee would not have at least 2 consecutive hours before or after work to vote, so he would be entitled to leave work early to go vote.
One way to ensure he gets at least 2 hours of time to vote would be to release him 31 minutes early. He would then have 2 consecutive hours, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, to make it to the voting center and cast his vote.
Are you sure the time off to vote must be paid?
Yep, paid time off to vote is required if the employee has not voted during the early voting period and, because of their work schedule, does not have at least 2 consecutive hours to vote before or after work.
If everyone’s gone to vote on Election Day, we’ll be short staffed. Can we decide which hours to release them?
Yes. Employers can decide which hours the employee will have off to vote, as long as those hours are during the time when polls are open and reasonably allows enough time for the employee to cast their vote.
But aren’t our employees supposed to notify us in advance if they need time off?
Nope. There is no requirement in Texas that an employee provide advance notice before taking leave.
If our employees had time to vote during the early voting period, can we deny their request for time off to vote?
Probably not. While you can encourage employees to vote during the early voting period, or even by mail, employers generally cannot require employees to vote during the early voting period.
If you’re planning to deny a request for time off to vote, or take any corrective or disciplinary action against an employee who recently used such leave, consult with experienced employment counsel first.
And hang in there, the election’s almost over.