Marc. A. Mandelman, a Member of the Firm in the Labor and Employment practice, in the firm’s New York office, was quoted in Human Resource Executive Online, in “Giving Time Off to Vote,” by Anne Freedman.
Following is an excerpt:
“They vary in their nature of time [required],” Mandelman says. “They vary in whether [employees] need to be paid or unpaid.”
Some laws require employers to post notice about the provision of leave; some require advance notice from the employee that he or she needs to take leave.
In general, he says, employees are “entitled to a reasonable period of time either before the beginning or the end of their shift to get to the poll and vote.”
The amount of time depends, obviously, on the time the polls open and close, compared to the employee's work hours. In some cases, it may also depend on location; for example, New York-based employers may need to consider the poll openings and closings in the neighboring states of New Jersey and Connecticut as well as New York.