For the past few months, I have been volunteering with the DCCC (Democratic Congressional something something) to text voters in their “red to blue” districts. We’ve been recruiting volunteers, reminding people to check their registration, and over the past few days, reminding people to make a plan to vote. It’s an enjoyable activity because it isn’t hard and, since we aren’t asking for money, get decent responses.
Yesterday, a woman asked me when her polling place opened. She needed to get to work and wanted to vote first. Her polling place opened at 6:00 am. I did a little research and learned that her state, Virginia, does not provide employees with protected time off to vote, unlike 28 other states. In California, where I live, employees are entitled to up to 2 hours of unpaid time off to vote. CBS News has an article about which other states provide that leave. I told the woman that if she was not able to vote before work, she should return after work, and stay in line to vote even if the polls close. I also told her she should talk to her manager ahead of time to make sure she won’t be penalized if she does need extra time.
Time off to vote is a benefit that many collective bargaining agreements have as well. In states where time off to vote is not protected, the CBA is the only protection for voting that an employee might have. Even in contracts where there is not an express provision for voting time off, I doubt many arbitrators would find that there was just cause for discipline if someone were late because they’d been voting. Even if voting isn’t protected, it’s the kind of activity that feels like it should be protected by just cause. An enterprising union would probably argue that it’s protected by Section 7 of the NLRA if they could tie it to some workplace-related issue. I’m not saying they’d win that argument, but on the other hand, I don’t see employers fighting about something that only comes up every other year. It’s a bad look to oppose voting (at least in my opinion).
I can imagine the issue arising in a broader context of absenteeism. A chronically tardy employee in a workplace with no state or CBA protections for voting may have a hard time arguing that this time, it was acceptable. Something I often tell grievants is that they accrue leave to use it for the purpose it’s designed for. For example, the person who calls off every time they feel like it can’t be surprised they are out of sick leave when they actually get the flu. Similarly, it’s perfectly reasonable for an employer to require an employee to demonstrate that they voted (that’s what the stickers are for) or require that employees give some notice ahead of time that they may need time to vote.
I’m going to get back to getting out the vote. If you have questions about your ballot or polling place, check out iwillvote.com. If you are having difficulty voting or are being told that you cannot vote, call 866-OUR-VOTE or text 866-687-8683.