February 04, 2020

 

Business Case for a Voter-friendly Workplace

 

Giving Time to Vote

There are a variety of ways to provide employees with time to vote, from offering flexible work arrangements or voter leave to designating Election Day a holiday. The right practice for your company will be unique to the needs and priorities of your employees, customers and shareholders, in addition to adhering to legal requirements.

• Flexible Work Arrangements: Allow employees to adjust their work hours to come in late or leave early while still working the same number of hours, extend the opportunity to telework (polling locations are often closer to home) and/or designate Election Day as a “no meeting” day to reduce the risk of schedule conflicts.
• Voter Leave: Offer paid or unpaid time to vote.
• Business Closure: Shorten business hours by opening late, closing early or designating Election Day as a holiday and closing for business. If you designate Election Day as a holiday, you have the option to either create a new holiday or swap for another one.

If you offer employees a full day of leave or designate Election Day as a holiday, encourage employees to use the day for voting, civic engagement or other volunteer activities, especially in states that offer early voting.

 

Get C-Suite Support and Start Early

According to Harvard Kennedy School, CEO and staff support are critical to implementing initiatives related to voting, while money is not. Because these efforts often require the time of current employees, early planning is important and makes for easier implementation.⁸

Other Opportunities to Encourage Voting

• Communicate relevant election information, such as how to register to vote and important dates, through emails, instant messages, all-hands meetings and signage.
• Host in-person voter registration drives.
• Provide on-site resources for mail-in ballots or early voting.
• Promote voter participation through social media channels.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Don’t tell your employees whom to support or vote for in an election, force employees to vote or make voting a factor in performance reviews

Employers in Action

Hundreds of U.S. companies encourage employees and customers to vote. Here are a few examples of how employers are taking action:

• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has been administering their CitizenBlue program for 18 years; in 2018, each employee received a magnet with key dates leading up the election; the company also hosted bipartisan candidate forums during lunch, developed a website with key election information and provided a summary of on what different state officers do.⁸
• Cava, a fast-casual restaurant chain, gives hourly employees two hours of paid leave to vote on election day; employees provide their managers with two weeks notice that they want the time off to vote, so shifts can be arranged appropriately.⁹
• Levi Strauss & Co. gives employees, including retail workers, paid time off to vote (retail employees receive three hours to vote and all other employees receive five hours); Levi also has volunteer “voting captains” in each location who hold registration drives and provide employees with key voting information.^{10, 11}
• Patagonia closes all retail stores, distribution and customer service centers and headquarters and gives all employee paid time off to vote.¹² 
• facebook is offering employees up to eight hours of paid time for the November 2020 election and also includes PTO for training ahead of Election Day for those who want to participate as poll workers.¹³
• The Coca-Cola Company is making Election Day a paid holiday for all U.S.-based employees.¹³

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Articles & Guides Leave & Flexible Work Arrangements Culture and Strategy