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Time-off-to-vote Laws: CCH Offers State-by-state Summary Of Employees Rights
(RIVERWOODS, ILL., October 9, 2002) – November
5 is Election Day across the United States, and in many states that
means employers must allow employees time off to exercise their right
to vote. In fact, voting takes
legal precedence over work in more than half of the United States,
according to CCH INCORPORATED (CCH), a leading provider of employment
law information, services and software.
Employers in many states risk fines or even jail sentences for
interfering with employees’ right to exercise their franchise. 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.
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.
"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," explains CCH labor law analyst Ronald Miller, JD.
States Strike a Balance
While federal law protects citizens’ right to vote, it is
individual state law that arbitrates between that right and the rights
of employers to discipline workers or withhold pay for time not
worked. Laws governing time off to vote can be found in 30 states,
with many of these rules trying to strike a balance between the
interests of employee and employer.
In 20 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
"The penalties for firms that violate time-off-to-vote laws
range from trivial to a corporate death sentence," said Miller.
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 possible jail time, in some cases up to a year, to monetary
penalties. In New York and Colorado, businesses can forfeit their
corporate charters if found in violation.
On the other end of the scale, is Arkansas, where failure to give
an employee an opportunity to vote – without pay – is punishable
by a fine as low as $25.
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.
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, and employees must be allowed
to vote. General elections also are 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.
States without time-off-to-vote laws are: Alabama, Connecticut,
Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana,
Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina,
Vermont and Virginia. While Mississippi law does not specifically
require time off to vote, employers can not increase or decrease an
employee’s wages or salary based on voting or nonvoting for any
particular candidate(s).
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 company’s 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 hr.cch.com.
-- ### --
nb-02-114
TIME OFF TO VOTE IN ELECTIONS
UNDER STATE LAWS
SOURCE: CCH INCORPORATED
LABOR LAW REPORTS, 2002
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 of $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 hours 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 $500 and/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, with proof of vote 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 $1,000 and/or jail up to 90 days
|
Missouri
|
Any voter
|
3 hours unless polls open 3 successive non-working
hours
|
Yes, if vote is cast
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Fine 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
time" 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 hours; 4 consecutive non-working
hours while polls open is "sufficient"
|
Limited to 2 hours
|
Yes, 2-10 work days prior to election day
|
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 employee’s 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 LAW REPORTS,
2002
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