With Election Day approaching, New York State Election Law requires employers to post a notice at the work place and provide eligible employees with up to two hours of paid time off (“PTO”) on Election Day.
Employers must post a notice setting forth the paid voting leave rights at least ten working days before Election Day in a conspicuous place where it can be seen by all employees. A “working day” is defined as any day when the employer is operating and/or open for business. If the employer is open seven days a week, the notice must be posted ten working days before Election Day - by October 24, 2020. If an employer is only open for business Monday to Friday, the notice must be posted two weeks before Election Day - by October 20, 2020.
Employees are eligible for up to two hours of PTO to vote if they do not have “sufficient time to vote.” An employee has “sufficient time to vote” if the employee has four consecutive hours to vote, either from the opening of the polls to the beginning of their work shift or from the end of their work shift to the closing of the polls. The PTO requirement applies even if employees are working from home. Eligible employees who require time off to vote must submit their requests to the employer no less than two working days before Election Day. Employers are not permitted to require employees to use their existing PTO or other earned leave time to vote.
Clifton Budd & DeMaria remains fully functioning during the current state of emergency. If you should have any questions, please contact the author of this article or your CB&D attorney.