Time to Vote: The Employer Obligation (MD, DE, D.C., VA, PA)
Date: October 30, 2020
By:
Steven E. Bers
In Maryland, the answer is provided by statute, which provides that an employer is only required to provide time off if an employee’s schedule does not allow at least two hours of continuous off-duty time to vote during the entire time that the polls are open.
Currently, Maryland State Board of Elections has announced that Maryland polls will be open from 7am to 8pm, on Election Day. Thus a traditional 9am to 5pm employee need not be given time off during the day, nor allowed to arrive late, nor allowed to leave early to vote, although an employer certainly has the right to voluntarily provide those accommodations. If, however, an employee does not have the required continuous 2-hour off-duty window, one must be provided with pay, with a requirement that the employee provide proof that the employee “voted or attempted to vote.” Md. Code, Election Article, §10-315.
An interesting recent nuance arises from the fact that polls are open in 2020 for “early voting” in Maryland at approximately 80 voting centers, from 7am to 8pm, from October 26 to Election Day, November 3, 2020, including Saturday and Sunday. It is accordingly hard to imagine that any Maryland employee will not be able to have a continuous off-duty period of 2 hours when the polls are open.
Similarly, the District of Columbia recently passed its own law – the Leave to Vote Amendment Act of 2020 –, which gives all District employees the right to at least two hours of paid leave to vote. Under this law, an employer may ask the employee who wishes to utilize the paid leave to submit the request ahead of time. This law went into effect on October 1, 2020.
Neither Delaware, Pennsylvania nor Virginia have similar laws on the books, dictating the terms for allowing voting time off to employees.
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.