Client Alert: Reminder to New York Employers: Election Obligations Relating to Employees
Date: October 28, 2024
By:
Lisa M. Brauner
Each state has its own laws regarding whether employers must provide employees with time off to vote, and if so, how much time off employers must provide to employees, and whether employers must post a workplace notice of employees’ voting rights.
As noted in our recent Employment Law Update, New York State requires employers to offer employees up to two hours of paid voting leave if employees do not have four consecutive hours to vote, either from the opening of the polls to the beginning of their work shift or between the end of a working shift and the closing of the polls.
Employer Notice: Importantly, New York employers must conspicuously post a notice in the workplace regarding employees’ rights to time off to vote at least 10 working days before Election Day. (The time off and notice posting requirements do not apply to early voting periods, however). The required notice can be found by clicking here.
Employee Notification: Employees must notify their employers at least two working days before an election of their intention to take time off from work to vote, but not more than ten working days.
New York employers may not require employees to use their paid time off to vote.
New York employers should review their voting leave policies in their employee handbooks and ensure they have posted notices of voting leave rights in a conspicuous location in the workplace (and emailed the notices too).
Reminder to Nonprofits: With respect to pre-election and lobbying activities, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations have certain restrictions imposed by the Internal Revenue Service in order to maintain their tax-exempt status. For more information, we refer you to our recent webinar on the topic here.
The information contained here is not intended to provide legal advice or opinion and should not be acted upon without consulting an attorney. Counsel should not be selected based on advertising materials, and we recommend that you conduct further investigation when seeking legal representation.