California Elections Code section 14000 mandates that if employees do not have sufficient time outside of working hours to vote in a statewide election, then they may take up to 2 hours of paid time off to vote in-person. An employee may choose to take more than two hours off, if his or her employer allows it, but only 2 hours will be paid.
California polls will be open from 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. on election day. However, be sure to check with your local polling place for their hours of operation, as some locations may have extended hours.
Employers may require that the employee give notice of this intention to take paid time off at least 2 days before election day (as the election day date is well-publicized, this should not be a last-minute request). Unless another arrangement is made, employees may only take time off at the beginning or end of their shift – whichever allows the most time for voting and the least time off from work. Note that if an office is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but a polling place is open from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m., the company may require that the employee vote after-hours.
Employers must post a notice to employees informing them of these provisions no less than 10 days before a statewide election. For the upcoming November 8 election, notices must be posted by Friday, October 28. A sample notice can be found here.
Now get out there and vote everyone – your vote counts!
Do You Have More Questions About Paid Time Off and California Leave Laws?
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*This article is for informational purposes only, and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. This article does not make any guarantees as to the outcome of a particular matter, as each matter has its own set of circumstances and must be evaluated individually by a licensed attorney.