Election Day Reminder: Get Posting, then Voting!
Posted October 15, 2024

As the scene opens, we see an anonymous employment attorney standing in the shadows. She is looking around furtively. When she spots her client, she makes the sound PSST, getting her client’s attention. She then beckons her client to come closer. With her hand covering her mouth (think of a baseball pitcher talking to a catcher at the mound), she whispers in hushed tones, “Election Day is near”. The client looks at the attorney suspiciously. “Just thought you should know, in case you might not have heard,” says the attorney sheepishly. The attorney and client each leave the scene in opposite directions with heads down, hands in pockets and trench coat collars popped (each trying their hardest to look anonymous).

We all know it’s an election year and November 5th is just around the corner. A lesser-known fact is that by no later than October 26, 2024 (10 days before the election), California employers must post a detailed notice in their workplaces. The required notice must inform California employees of their right to paid time off to vote. Now you’re thinking: Do I have that notice? Where do I get it? Do I really have to pay?

Don’t fret! Our Great State of California has you covered – you can download a sample notice here. Alternatively, you can call the Elections Division at (916) 657-2166, to order the notice (but, if it were me, I would just print out the PDF – seems simpler).

While you peruse the State’s website for the required notice, also make sure to briefly review the voting time requirements of California Elections Code Section 14001. Section 14001 provides that even though California’s polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (13 hours), if your employees do not have sufficient time outside of their working hours to vote, then they are eligible for up to two hours of paid time off. The employees need to give you at least two days’ advance notice, and you can schedule the time off to be at the start or end of a shift to minimize disruptions. Hopefully, that makes it more palatable.

In all seriousness, employers, and the law, will hopefully align in their desires to provide employees with an opportunity to vote, even if that means paying for a couple hours in limited circumstances. This is a fundamental, constitutional right. So, get posting; then get voting!

For questions about employment law issues, contact the attorneys at LightGabler LLP.

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