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YOU HAVE TIME TO VOTE! Understanding New York’s Paid Time Off for Voting in 2024

As Election Day approaches, it’s crucial for every worker in New York to understand their rights regarding paid time off to vote. Exercising your democratic right should never be hindered by long work shifts, childcare responsibilities, or long commute times. This blog post will clarify your rights, how to ensure you can vote, and provide a handy chart to keep track of deadlines — especially for those with non-traditional work weeks.

In New York, if you need time to vote, you are entitled to take up to two hours of paid time off from your job, provided that you meet certain criteria.

  1. Eligibility

If you do not have sufficient time to vote outside of your working hours, you are eligible. “Sufficient time” means four consecutive hours between the opening of the polls and the start of your work shift, or four consecutive hours between the end of your work shift and the closing of the polls.

Here’s how it works:

If your work schedule is from 9am to 5pm, and the polls are open from 6am to 9pm, then the employer does NOT have to provide you with paid time off to vote.

But if your shift is from 9am to 6pm, you are entitled to paid time off to vote because the polls are only open for three consecutive hours after your shift ends. Thus, the employer MUST provide you up to two hours of paid time off in order to vote. This is not PTO or vacation or sick time. This is voting time.

  1. Notification

You must notify your employer at least **two working days** before Election Day if you need time off to vote. This notification should ideally be in writing.

Employees looking for paid voting time must notify the employer at least two working (business) days prior to actually taking the time. Employees should not provide the notification more than ten days prior to the needed time.

For the November 5 election, here are the notification timelines:

This is a notoriously tricky area of law so DO NOT RELY on the first or last days listed in this chart!!! Play it safe and notify in the middle of the notification window!!!

If the workplace operates:

 

The earliest day you should notify the employer is: The best days to notify the employer are: The latest day you should notify the employer is:
Monday-Friday October 22, 2024 10/24-10/31 November 1, 2024
Tuesday-Saturday October 22, 2024 10/23-11/2 November 1, 2024
Friday-Tuesday October 25, 2024 10/26-11/2 November 3, 2024
Saturday-Wednesday October 22, 2024 10/23-11/2 November 3, 2024
Sunday-Thursday October 22, 2024 10/23-10/31 November 3, 2024
Every day of the week October 26, 2024 10/27-11/2 November 3, 2024

 

  1. Employers’ Obligations:

Employers are required to provide employees with the time they need to vote, but they are allowed to designate when that time off can be taken. They cannot penalize you for taking this time off to exercise your voting rights.

How to Protect Your Paid Voting Leave

A. **Plan Ahead**: Make your voting plan early. Know your polling location, and check your voter registration status to avoid any last-minute issues.

B. **Document Your Request**: When you notify your employer, consider doing it in writing. This can help protect your rights and provides documentation should there be any disputes.

C. **Stay Informed**: Keep abreast of any potential changes to polling hours or regulations as Election Day approaches.

D. **Know Your Rights**: Familiarize yourself with your state’s voting rights laws, and don’t hesitate to stand up for your rights. If you feel that your employer is preventing you from voting,             you may report this to your local election office.

If you are concerned that your employer may give you a hard time trying to get paid voting time, contact a reputable New York workplace attorney. Now, get out there and VOTE!

Paid Voting Leave

Need To Take Time Off From Work To Vote on November 2, 2021? 

On Tuesday, November 2, 2021, polls in New York will be open from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm.

Employees in New York are eligible for up to two hours of paid time off to vote in certain circumstances. 

Specifically, if you don’t have “sufficient time to vote” during your workday, NYS Election law gives you up to two hours paid time off to vote. Election Law §3-110. By contrast, you are deemed to have “sufficient time to vote” if you have four consecutive hours to vote either from the opening of the polls to the beginning of your shift, or four consecutive hours between the end of your shift and the closing of the polls. Id. 

Here’s an example.  If you must work from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, the election law deems you as having “sufficient time to vote” and therefore not eligible to paid voting leave.  This is because the polls are open until 9:00 pm – which is four consecutive hours after the end of your shift at 5:00 pm.  If, however, you work from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, you can get paid voting leave because the polls are open for only three consecutive hours after the end of your shift. The total amount of paid time off you are entitled to depends on several factors, including travel time from your workplace to your polling place, waiting time at your polling place, traffic, among other things. The maximum paid time off to vote is capped at two hours. 

Please note the following: 

  • You are required to give your employer at least two working days prior notice of your intention to take paid time off to vote, but not more than ten working days’ notice. The term “working days” is defined as any day that your employer is open for business. 
  • Your employer cannot require you to use personal time off or any other form of earned leave time to vote. 
  • Regardless of your vaccination status, masks are required for all individuals entering polling locations. 

If, you believe your employer is impermissibly denying you paid time off for voting, contact a workers’ rights attorney or the New York State Department of Labor.  

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