 |
| Press Releases | | List By Date | Banking/Finance Institutions | Business Law | Corporate | Health Care and Entitlements | Human Resources | Securities | Tax | News Archives | |
|  |
Contact Information
Time-off-to-vote Laws: CCH Offers State-by-state Summary Of Employees Rights
(RIVERWOODS, ILL., October 10, 2000) Voting takes legal precedence over
work in more than half of the United States, and employers in many states risk fines or
even jail sentences for interfering with their employees right to exercise their
franchise, according to CCH INCORPORATED (CCH), a leading provider of employment law
information, services and software. In other states, however, the law offers no special
protection or incentive for someone who takes time out of the workday to cast a ballot.
While federal law protects citizens right to vote, it is the law codes of the
individual states that arbitrate between that right and the rights of employers to
discipline workers and not to pay them for time not worked. Laws governing time off to
vote can be found in 31 states, while 19 states and the District of Columbia dont
address the question in their statute books.
"Typically, time-off-to-vote laws require that employees who are registered voters
be given time off from work usually up to two or three hours in which to
visit the polls," explains CCH labor law analyst Ronald Miller.
In many cases, though, time off is only guaranteed if the employee does not have
sufficient time outside of working hours to cast a ballot.
Striking a Balance
In many states, the laws try to strike a balance between the interests of employee and
employer.
In 24 states, employees must be paid for time spent voting: employers are prohibited
from penalizing an employee or making deductions from wages for at least part of the time
the employee is authorized to be absent from work to cast a vote. Five states
Hawaii, Maryland, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wyoming spell out in their statute books
that workers will be paid for their time off only if they actually vote.
Seventeen states require employees to give advance notice of their intention to take
time off. Iowa and West Virginia add the requirement that the notification be in writing.
Employers are allowed to specify the hours to be taken for voting in 20 states.
Range of Penalties
"For firms that violate time-off-to-vote laws, penalties can range from trivial to
a corporate death sentence," said Miller.
In Arkansas, failure to give an employee an opportunity to vote without pay
is punishable by a fine as low as $25. The highest fines are authorized in Arizona,
Kansas and Missouri, where an individual employer may be fined $2,500. Arizona further
provides for corporations to be assessed up to $20,000. Twelve states add the possibility
of jail time from 30 days to a year to monetary penalties. In Colorado and
New York, businesses can forfeit their corporate charters if found in violation.
Laws requiring payment for time off to vote were approved in 1952 by the U.S. Supreme
Court in a pair of decisions involving Missouri and California laws: Day-Brite
Lighting, Inc. v. Missouri and Tide Water Associated Oil Co. v. Robinson. They
were upheld as a proper exercise of the police power of the state.
Included is a chart listing those states with time-off-to vote laws, along with
information on which employees are covered, the amount of time that may be taken, special
conditions under which time off may be taken and penalties for employer violations of the
laws. Also included is a list of those states that do not have time-off-to-vote laws.
In addition to the U.S. states listed here, Puerto Rico provides that any day a general
election, a referendum of general interest or a plebiscite is held is a legal holiday,
employees must be allowed to vote. General elections are also considered legal holidays
within the Virgin Islands, and employees who give prior notice are entitled to two hours
off from work to vote, without loss of pay.
About CCH INCORPORATED
CCH INCORPORATED, Riverwoods, Ill., is a leading provider of human resources and
employment law information, software and e-learning. For more than 60 years, the
companys Human Resources group has set the standard as an authoritative source of
employment law, including information on benefits, compensation, worker safety and human
resources management. CCH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wolters Kluwer U.S. The CCH web
site can be accessed at www.cch.com. The
CCH Human Resources web site can be accessed at http://hr.cch.com.
-- ### --
nb-00-131 |
TIME OFF TO VOTE IN ELECTIONS
UNDER STATE LAWS
SOURCE: CCH INCORPORATED LABOR
LAW REPORTS, 2000
State |
Employees Affected |
Time
Allowed |
Must Employee be Paid? |
Must Employee Make Application? |
May Employer Specify Hours? |
Penalty for Violation |
Alaska |
Any voter |
Enough time to vote, unless 2
hours available before or after work |
Yes |
* |
* |
* |
Arizona |
Any voter |
Up to 3 hours unless polls open 3
hours before or after work |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Fine up to $2,500, jail up to 6
months; for enterprises, fine up to $20,000 |
Arkansas |
Any voter |
Work hours must be scheduled to
allow employees opportunity to vote |
* |
* |
* |
Fine of $25 to $250 |
California |
Any voter |
Enough time at start or end of
work to vote in statewide election, when added to free time during voting hours |
Limited to 2 hours |
Yes, 2 work days
before election |
At beginning or end of shift |
* |
Colorado |
Any voter |
2 hours unless polls open 3
non-working hours |
Yes, but limited to 2 hours for
hourly workers |
Yes |
Yes, at beginning or end of shift |
Fine of up to $1,000 and/or jail
up to 1 year; corporations also face forfeit of charter and right to do business in state |
Georgia |
Any voter |
Up to 2 hrs where necessary,
unless 2 hours available before or after work |
* |
Yes |
Yes |
* |
Hawaii |
Any voter |
2 hours, excluding lunch or rest
periods, unless polls open 2 non-working hours |
Yes, if vote is cast |
* |
* |
Fine of $50 to $300 |
Illinois |
Any voter |
2 hours between opening and
closing of polls |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
* |
Iowa |
Any voter |
Enough time to give 3 voting
hours when polls are open, unless employee has 3 consecutive hours non-work time when
polls are open |
Yes |
In writing |
Yes |
Fine of $50 to $100 or jail up to
30 days |
Kansas |
Any voter |
Up to 2 hours, between open and
close of polls1 |
Yes |
* |
Yes2 |
Fine up to $2,500 and/or jail up
to 1 year |
Kentucky |
Any voter |
Reasonable time, but not less
than 4 hours between opening and closing of polls3 |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
* |
Maryland |
Any voter |
Up to 2 hours unless employee has
2 continuous hours off duty between open and close of polls |
Yes, if vote is cast |
* |
* |
* |
Massachusetts |
Any voter employed in mechanical,
manufacturing or mercantile businesses |
No work during first 2 hours
polls are open |
* |
Yes |
* |
Fine up to $500 |
Minnesota |
Any voter |
Mornings of election day |
Yes |
* |
* |
Fine up to $700 and/or jail up to
90 days |
Mississippi |
Any voter |
Necessary time to cast a vote |
Yes |
* |
* |
* |
Missouri |
Any voter |
3 hours unless polls open 3
successive non-working hours |
Yes, if vote is cast |
Yes |
Yes |
Fine of up to $2,500 and/or 1
year in jail |
Nebraska |
Any voter |
Up to 2 hours unless polls open 2
hours before or after work |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
* |
Nevada |
Any voter |
"Sufficient time"
unless "sufficient times" exists during non-working hours; 1 to 3 hours
depending on polls distances |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Fine up to $1,000 and/or jail up
to 6 months |
New Mexico |
Any voter |
2 hours unless work begins 2
hours after polls open or ends 3 hours before polls close |
4 |
* |
Yes |
Fine of $50 to $100 |
New York |
Any voter |
"Sufficient time"
unless "sufficient time" exists during non-working hrs; 4 consecutive
non-working hours while polls open is "sufficient" |
Limited to 2 hours |
Yes |
Yes, at beginning or
end of shift |
Fine of $100 to $500 and/or jail
up to 1 year (first offense). Corporations also face forfeiture of charter |
North Dakota |
Any voter |
Employers are encouraged to
provide time off to vote when employees regular work schedule conflicts with times
polls are open |
* |
* |
* |
* |
Ohio |
Any voter |
Reasonable time (amount not
specified) |
4 |
* |
* |
Discharge or threat of discharge
prohibited; fine of $50 to $500 |
Oklahoma |
Any voter |
2 hours, more if necessary,
except where employee has 3 hours before or after work to vote |
Yes, if vote is cast |
Yes |
Yes |
Fine of $50 to $100 |
South Dakota |
Any voter |
2 hours, unless polls open 2
non-working hours |
Yes |
* |
Yes |
Fine up to $200 and/or jail up to
30 days |
Tennessee |
Any voter |
Up to 3 hours unless polls open 3
hours before or after work |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
* |
Texas |
Any voter |
Amount not specified; none if
polls open for 2 non-working hours |
Yes |
* |
Yes5 |
Fine up to $500 |
Utah |
Any voter |
2 hours between opening and
closing of polls, unless polls open 3 or more non-working hours |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Fine up to $1,000 and/or jail up
to 6 months; for corporations, fine up to $5,000 |
Washington |
Any voter |
Up to 2 hours6 |
Yes |
* |
* |
* |
West Virginia |
Any voter |
Up to 3 hours, if necessary,
between opening and closing of polls |
Yes, unless has 3 hours non-
working time to vote and chooses not to do so |
In writing 3 days before election |
*7 |
For corporations, fine up to
$1,000; other employers/individuals, fine up to $500 and/or jail up to 6 months |
Wisconsin |
Any voter |
Up to 3 hours while polls open |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
* |
Wyoming |
Any voter |
1 hour, unless polls open 3 or
more consecutive non-working hours |
Yes, if vote is cast |
* |
Yes, exclusive of
meal times |
Fine up to $1,000 and/or county
jail up to 6 months |
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*No express provision.
1If polls open before or after work, then enough time, when added to free time,
to vote, up to 2 hours.
2May not include regular lunch period.
3Also up to 4 hours to request application or execute absentee ballot, on day
appearing before clerk, during business hours.
4No provision but Attorneys General have construed law to require pay; in New
Mexico, limited to 2 hours for hourly paid workers, except where workday ends more than 3
hours before polls close and no loss of pay; in Ohio, limited to salaried employees.
5No provision but Attorney General has construed law as giving employer right
to designate hours, provided sufficient time is allowed.
6Does not apply if, after knowledge of work schedule on such election date,
employee has sufficient time available for an absentee ballot to be secured.
7Employer may schedule time off to vote in essential government, health,
hospital, transportation & communication services & in production, manufacturing
& processing works requiring continuity of operations, but ample and convenient time
& opportunity to vote.
SOURCE: CCH INCORPORATED LABOR
STATES WITHOUT
TIME-OFF-TO-VOTE LAWS
Alabama
Montana
Connecticut
New Hampshire
Delaware
New Jersey
District of Columbia
North Carolina
Florida
Oregon
Idaho
Pennsylvania
Indiana
Rhode Island
Louisiana
South Carolina
Maine
Vermont
Michigan
Virginia
|
|
|
|