18 June 2019 New York election law is amended to require that employers give employees additional paid time off to vote Effective immediately, the recently enacted New York State FY 2020 budget bill (A2005c, Part YY) amends the state election laws to require that employers allow employees who are registered voters up to three hours off without loss of pay (up from two hours) in order to vote in any election (the employee must be allowed to take off as much working time as will enable him or her to vote). Unless the employer and employee agree to another time during the day, the time off must be at the beginning or end of the employee's work shift as the employer designates. An employee who requires time off to vote during work hours must notify the employer not less than two working days before the day of the election. The change in law also removes the exception under which an employee was not entitled to paid time off to vote if there were four consecutive hours between the time that (1) the polls opened and the employee's shift began or (2) the employee's shift ended and the polls closed. Employers are required to post a conspicuous notice regarding employees' right to vote during work time at least 10 days prior to every election. Because the next primary election takes place on June 25, 2019, employers should download the revised notice here and post it as soon as possible. The notice must be kept posted until the close of the polls on election day. For more information on upcoming New York elections, see the Board of Elections website.
Document ID: 2019-1118 | |||||||
