Election Day this year is November 5, 2024. With the date rapidly approaching, it’s time to ensure that you’re complying with New York’s law requiring employers to provide employees with paid time off to vote.
What Kind of Leave Must Be Provided?
New York Election Law § 3-110 requires employers to provide an employee who doesn’t have sufficient time outside of work hours to vote with up to two hours off. The two-hour leave must be with pay. You can’t require your employees to use any sort of existing PTO – this is entirely funded by the employer.
Notably, the law requires up to two hours off. If the employee’s voting can be accomplished within a shorter period of time, he should do so. The law allows for case-by-case determinations, taking into consideration waiting times at polling places, traffic conditions, and other factors. Obviously these factors can vary depending on the location of the employee’s workplace, polling place, and commuting times.
What’s A Sufficient Time to Vote Outside of Work Hours?
An employee has sufficient time to vote outside of work hours if he has four consecutive hours from the opening of the polls to the beginning of his work shift or four consecutive hours between the end of his shift and the time the polls close.
For example, if your employee is scheduled to work from 8am-4pm and the polls are open from 6am to 9pm, he isn’t eligible for paid time off to vote because the polls are open four consecutive hours after the employee’s shift ends at 4pm. However, if the same employee is scheduled to work from 9am to 6pm, the employee is eligible for paid time off to vote.
Why? Because there wasn’t four hours either before his shift or after his shift to vote that day.
The Rule on Notifying Employees
The law requires employers to post a notice about this leave at least 10 days before an election. A useful notice form is published by the State and can be found here.
This year, for workplaces running a typical Monday to Friday schedule, employers must post the notice 10 work days before Election Day. For those of us on a typical Monday to Friday schedule, that means you’ve got to post your notice no later than Tuesday, October 22, 2024. Keep it posted until the end of Election Day.
The Rule on Notifying Employers
An employee who intends to take voting leave must tell his employer about it at least two work days in advance of Election Day. In a typical Monday-Friday work environment, that means an employee must tell you by Friday, November 1st that he’s taking time off to vote.
Interestingly, the employee isn’t permitted to tell you more than 10 days before Election Day!
The Impact of Voting Leave on Work Shifts
Under the law, an employee may take time off at the beginning or end of his shift, unless you agree on another time. The employer may choose whether the employee takes time off at the beginning or end of his shift.
Questions?
If you’ve got questions about how to make this work – or about any other employment issue – reach out. We’re here to help.
