Hello!  Welcome to Training with LegalEase. Today’s topic is about voting leave. It’s really a thing, but many people, including employers, forget about it.

Many states actually grant employees voting leave. Let’s talk about the state of Georgia, since that’s where I’m based. Here are the rules:

1. If you’re eligible to vote and you’re registered to vote on the day of the election, then you’re entitled to two hours of voting leave. The leave is unpaid.
2. However, if you are scheduled to start work two hours after the polls open or you’re scheduled to end work two hours before the polls close, then you really don’t need leave, right? In these circumstances, you would not receive voting leave under the statute because you have two hours before and after work to vote.

What actions are required by the employer and the employees?

The employee must give the employer reasonable notice that leave is required and comply with the company policy.

The employer must have a voting leave policy that specifies when employees can vote, including the time of day, how much notice is required, and all the specifics the employer wants around the leave. This is important because employers will, potentially,  have employees coming and going on voting day.

I hope this was helpful. If you have questions about voting leave in your state, give us a call.