Legal Alert: DC Employers Must Provide Paid Leave to Vote

The Leave to Vote Amendment Act of 2020 requires employers in DC to provide at least two hours of paid leave to employees who wish to vote in-person in an election. If the employee is not eligible to vote in DC, the employee can vote in any election run by the jurisdiction where the employee is eligible to vote. For example, an employee not eligible to vote in DC can take leave to vote in Virginia, if eligible to vote there.

Employee Requests for Voting Leave

An employee must request paid leave to vote from their employer in advance of taking the leave. Employees may request at least two hours to vote if the employee is scheduled to work during election time. An employee’s request for leave should be consistent with the employer’s existing leave policy; if the employer does not have a leave policy, the request should be made no later than seven days before the time requested to vote. Additionally, in response to a request for leave to vote, an employer may specify the hours during the in-person voting period in which the employee may take leave to vote. An employer may require that employees take leave during a period designated for early voting instead of on the day of the election, or at the beginning or end of their work hours.

Elections Eligible for Leave to Vote

DC-voter employees may request leave to vote for local elections for mayor, chairman or member of the Council of the District of Columbia, attorney general, member of the State Board of Education, or advisory neighborhood commissioner, as well as the president and vice president of the United States, the delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, or any federal elected officials. Employees who do not live and vote in DC are eligible for leave for any local, state, or federal election in which they are eligible to vote. Eligible elections for all employees include primary elections, general elections, and special elections.

Notice of Leave to Vote

DC employers must provide employees with notice of their right to leave to vote under DC law. The DC Board of Elections provides a notice poster for employers to use. The notice for the 2024 General Election is available online now. Employers must post the notice at least 60 days before any scheduled election. Remote employees or employees who do not have access to a physical poster must receive notice through other means, such as email or posting on the employee portal. Employers must collect a signed acknowledgment of receipt of notice from each employee.

Noncompliance with Leave to Vote

Employers that interfere with, restrain, or deny an employee’s timely attempt to take leave; retaliates against an employee who leaves to vote; or deducts from an employee’s salary, wages, or accrued leave for paid voting leave may face a fine up to $2,000 from the DC Board of Elections. As an important reminder, employers in DC cannot discriminate against current or potential employees based on their political affiliation.

Additional information for nonprofits and small businesses is available at the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center’s resource website: www.lawhelp.org/dc/NPSB.

If you have questions, feel free to contact us at npsb@dcbar.org.

© D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center 2024

This communication is provided by the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center solely for informational purposes, without any representation that it is accurate or complete. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be construed as such. It does not create an attorney-client relationship between the recipient and any other person, or an offer to create such a relationship. This communication contains information that is based, in whole or in part, on the laws of the District of Columbia and is current as of the date it is written. However, laws vary from state to state and may change from time to time. As a result, the information may not be appropriate for anyone operating outside the District of Columbia and may no longer be timely. Consult an attorney if you have questions regarding the contents of this communication.