Finally, election day will be here on Tuesday, November 5! While many people already have voted, there undoubtedly will be a lot of Minnesotans voting in person on election day.
In Minnesota, employees have the right to take time off from work to vote! Specifically, employees who are eligible to vote in a covered election are entitled to take time off from work for the period of time necessary to vote at their polling place and return to work. This applies both on the day of the election and during the time period allowed by law to vote in person before election day.
Employers are prohibited from deducting from an individual’s wages or from penalizing an employee because of the absence, and cannot directly or indirectly refuse, abridge, or interfere with this right (or any other election rights). Among others, this means that an employer cannot require an employee to use accrued paid time off or vacation time for purposes of voting. Violation of this law is a misdemeanor.
In addition to the right to take time off from work to vote, Minnesota employees have the right to take time off to serve as an election judge. Under Minnesota law, an individual who is selected to serve as an election judge is allowed to take time off from work, without penalty, provided they give their employer at least 20 days’ written notice. The written notice should be accompanied by a certification from the appointing authority that states the hourly pay rate to be paid to the employee and the hours during which the employee will serve as an election judge. An employer may limit the number of employees absent from work for the purpose of serving as an election judge to no more than 20% of the total work force at any single worksite.
Although an employer may reduce an employee’s wages by the amount paid to the employee by the appointing authority during the time the employee was absent from work to serve as an election judge, employers should be very careful when deciding whether to do so for an employee who is exempt from overtime pay requirements under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and similar state laws, as such a deduction may not be allowed under those laws. As such, notwithstanding the Minnesota statute, employers should obtain competent legal advice before making any such deduction.
