Each American citizen 18 years old or older has a right to vote and most—not all—have the right to take time off to vote. Thirty-three states have laws on the books requiring employers to give workers time off to cast a vote. The District of Columbia and 17 states do not.
With so much at stake in Tuesday’s election, working families are mobilizing to get out every vote. So, it is important to know if you can get time off to vote or if you have to go before or after work. To find out what the law is in your state, visit the website www.CanMyBossDoThat.com.
The new site offers an interactive list of laws in each state and Washington, D.C. The site also provides links to the specific laws, which differ from state to state. For example, in Minnesota, workers can take time in the morning on Election Day, but not the afternoon. In Massachusetts, only mechanical, retail and manufacturing workers can take time off. The law in North Dakota doesn’t require employers to let employees off to vote, it only “suggests” that they do it.
The site also provides information on which states protect workers from retaliation based on how they vote or because of political activity outside of work. As many people learned when a woman was fired for her John Kerry bumper sticker in Alabama in 2004, without state protection, workers are not protected from retaliation for their political views or how they vote.
Says Anne Janks, director of the site:
These new resources will help workers understand if they have any rights and how to get the time off to vote. We also hope that states which do not give these most basic rights to ensure a vibrant democracy will consider passing protections for their citizens.
So check the site to see what your rights are, but, by all means, make sure to vote Nov. 2.
CanMyBossDoThat.com is a non-profit website with more than 750 pages educating workers about their rights. Many employment rights are based on state laws. Topics also outline federal and state-specific protections. The site was started in 2009 by Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ) to provide clear, usable, specific information for workers and their advocates.
To read more information about your voting rights as it relates to employment, visit Workplace Fairness’ Voting Rights Page.
This article was originally posted on AFL-CIO Now Blog.
About the Author: James Parks had his first encounter with unions at Gannett’s newspaper in Cincinnati when his colleagues in the newsroom tried to organize a unit of The Newspaper Guild. He is a journalist by trade, and worked for newspapers in five different states before joining the AFL-CIO staff in 1990. His proudest career moment, though, was when he served, along with other union members and staff, as an official observer for South Africa’s first multiracial elections. Author photo by Joe Kekeris
