ANNOUNCER: I’m here with Christian Jannetta from Cohen Highley Lawyers. Are employers required to give employees time off to vote in the upcoming election?
CHRISTIAN: This is an issue which often causes confusion. It’s not really about time off. It’s about ensuring that an employee who’s qualified to vote has three consecutive hours free from work for the purpose of voting.
ANNOUNCER: Now, who chooses when the hours are?
CHRISTIAN: It’s at the employer’s discretion. Whatever will most minimally impact the employee’s scheduled work hours. If the employee already has three consecutive hours free from work on Election Day during polling hours, then the employer won’t be required to provide any time off.
ANNOUNCER: What if an employee’s schedule shift ends with only two hours left before the close of polls?
CHRISTIAN: In that scenario, the employer could let the employee leave an hour early so that they had the three consecutive hours.
ANNOUNCER: Are employees paid for time off to vote?
CHRISTIAN: Yes. If the circumstances do require time off work, the employee must be paid for the time off.