| Update Applicable to: | Effective date |
| All employers in D.C. | Immediately |
What happened?
On May 10, 2024, D.C. published final regulations affecting the District’s voting leave law that took effect immediately.
What are the details?
Key Bites:
- Administrative Leave for Voting: Agencies must give 2 hours of administrative leave to employees to vote in any election or referendum on a civic matter in their community. Employees must coordinate with their respective supervisors regarding any anticipated use of administrative leave for voting.
- Notice Requirement: The new regulations require employers to post the Time Off to Vote notice in a prominent location in the workplace at least 60 days before all scheduled elections (including special elections).
- For remote employees and those who do not have access to a physical poster, the notice should be provided by any reasonable means such as by email.
- Employers need to collect a signed acknowledgment of receipt.
- Advance Notice for Voting Leave: Employers who do not have an established policy that contains provisions for reasonable advance notice cannot require employees to provide more than seven (7) days’ notice to take voting leave.
- Specifying Leave Hours: 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.
Business Considerations
- Employers must post the voting leave notice (which appears to be updated each year) at least 60 days before any scheduled election and provide notice to employees who do not have access to a physical poster.
- Employers should create a reasonable notice voting policy, if they have not done so yet, and review and update the current one.
- Employers should plan to coordinate with the employee the use of administrative leave for voting.
- Employers should provide notice to all employees and require all employees to provide an acknowledgment of receipt.
Source References
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