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Election Day is upon us—and churches as employers need to note their potential legal obligations to give employees time off to vote.
As Kiplinger Letter recently noted, 29 states keep laws on the books that require employers to accommodate voting time of between one and four hours on Election Day. Of those states, 22 require the time off to be paid. Many also require the employers to notify employees of this benefit.
And sanctions in a dozen of these states, the publication said, can range from fines as high as $20,000 for employers—and $2,500 for supervisors—to the loss of the entity’s corporate charter.
An informal poll of attorneys from Church Law & Tax’s Editorial Advisory Board indicates the states with these statutes in place do not exempt churches, religious organizations, or other nonprofits from complying. For instance:
As an aside, Sommerville noted, it is not clear how this type of law now works in light of the prevalence of early voting. “Since early voting also takes place on weekends, in addition to workdays, I wonder whether the law only applies to the actual Election Day, or, can the employer say that the employee had at least two hours available on their off-duty days?” Sommerville said. Either way, churches in Texas should note the existence of the law and comply accordingly until further notice.
Bottom line: Church leaders should find out whether their state enforces a mandate like this on Election Day. WorkplaceFairness.org offers a full state-by-state survey of the laws.
Matthew Branaugh is editor of Christianity Today’s Church Law & Tax.