Some tech companies are treating Election Day like a holiday.
Take Off Election Day is a national movement encouraging companies across the United States to give their employees the entire day off to make sure they have plenty of time to vote. So far, at least 326 companies have said they’re on board, including big names like Tinder, TaskRabbit and Spotify.
Tinder CEO Sean Rad said he doesn’t care how much time employees take off to go vote — he just wants to make sure they have the option to go perform their civic duty.
“Whether it’s 30 minutes, a couple hours or the whole day, we fully support and encourage all team members to make their way to the polls,” Rad said in a statement.
Others aren’t taking the full day off, but want to make sure voting comes first on November 8.
In New York, the 100 employees who work at Wink, a smart home company, won’t be expected to get into the office until 11:30 a.m. ET on Election Day.
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But what if you don’t work for an employer that’s treating Election Day like a holiday? The answer is complicated, since voting rights laws for employees vary state by state.
“The lesson – is to check out your state law, request your time off early and schedule your time properly” for when you plan to vote, Larry Besnoff, a partner with law firm Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel in Philadelphia, told NBC News. Besnoff is co-chair of the firm’s labor relations and employment law department.
FindLaw has a handy breakdown of each state’s policy and links to the official citation. Many of the states that do allow paid time to go vote still ask for employees to give their boss advance notice.
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Just how different are the laws? Here’s a snapshot: Minnesota allows employees all the time they need to go vote. Arkansas requires employers to make a schedule to accommodate employees who wish to go vote. Other states, such as Arizona, California and New York, allow for a couple hours of paid leave, under certain circumstances.
More than a dozen states don’t have a law regarding time off to go vote. However, it’s worth noting Oregon, Washington and Colorado conduct all of their voting by mail.
If you live in a state that doesn’t guarantee time off during the workday to go vote, Besnoff said he recommends voting after work — even if it’s getting close to the time the polls are closing.
“I would vote late at night because the law in most states is if you are in line to vote, even if the expiration time comes, they still have to let you vote,” he said.
