District of Columbia Leave to Vote Amendment Act of 2020
Under the Leave to Vote Amendment Act of 2020, all District of Columbia employers are required to provide employees with paid leave to vote. Upon an employee’s request, an employer must provide the employee at least two hours of paid leave to vote in person in any public election in the District. Employees that are ineligible to vote in the District are eligible to receive two hours of paid leave to vote in person in any election run by the jurisdiction in which the employee is eligible to vote.
Employers may require employees requesting time off to vote to provide a reasonable time in advance. Employers may specify the hours during which an employee may take the leave, including taking leave during an early voting period instead of on the actual day of the election, or at the beginning or end of their working hours.
Employers are prohibited from:
- deducting from an employee’s salary, wages or accrued leave for paid voting leave;
- interfering with, restraining or denying any attempt to take paid voting leave; and
- retaliating against an employee for taking paid voting leave.
The Time off to Vote Notice was developed by the District of Columbia Board of Elections in consultation with the Office of Human Rights’ Language Access Program. The notice includes employee rights under the Leave to Vote Amendment Act of 2020, and the dates and times of the upcoming election.
Posting Requirement
All District of Columbia employers must post and maintain this notice in a conspicuous location in the workplace. (D.C. Act 23-110, Sec. 7a (5)).