Get Out There and Vote (If You Can)
Get Out There and Vote (If You Can)
As you may have noticed, it’s election time again in America. People are wearing shirts for their favorite candidates, signs are outnumbering yard flamingos, and Facebook is a battlefield of comments and debates, and for good reason. This election year is one for the history books, with some of the most unique candidates an election has ever had. Now we are not here to try and convince you who to vote for, we are simply telling you how you can get out and vote.
The first voting date, where you vote in the Presidential Preference Primary Election, (Where citizens vote on who will be on a party’s nationwide ballot), takes place on March 15th in Florida, which is a Tuesday. Many people work throughout the week, and may want to head to the voting booths even though their job asks them to be at work. If you are one of those people who want to cast your vote, but can’t make it because of the hours you work, what can you do?
Each state has it’s own laws on the matter, with some requiring a company give employees time off to vote, while others don’t. Florida falls under the latter, not requiring business owners to award time off to it’s employees for voting purposes. This doesn’t mean you won’t be able to cast your vote however, just that you have to get permission from your boss to do so. Before you ask your boss to get time off for voting, there are a couple of things you should consider first.
- Do you have time to vote?:Voting can be done between 7:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M.If your job schedule allows for reasonable free time within that time period, your boss might be less inclined to allow you time off from work to vote. If you have children that you have to drop off or pick up from school and take care of when you are off work, this wouldn’t count as reasonable free time.
- What Does your Employee Handbook Say?: Just because the state says your boss doesn’t have to give you time off to vote, doesn’t mean he won’t. Many businesses allow employees time to vote, either letting them come in late, leave early, or take a couple hours off in the middle of the day. Check your employee handbook for your job’s stance on voting leave.
If you don’t have enough free time to vote, and your employee handbook doesn’t make any claims on how you can take time off for voting, then the next step is to talk to your boss directly. Most bosses will be understanding, maybe even taking time off themselves to vote, so don’t be nervous asking them for a little time off. When you do talk to your boss, remember these few points.
- Don’t Ask Last Minute: Like asking for any time off, voting or not, ask for time off in advance. This will give your boss time to work out a schedule that allows you, and others, time to vote without disrupting business. There is a good possibility you won’t be the only one wanting to get out and vote, and the job can’t just shut down and let everyone out to the voting booths, so give them an early warning about you wanting to take off.
- Explain your Reasons: As we said before, even if you have time off of work during voting times, you might not be able to vote during them due to other obligations. Explain to your boss the only time you would be able to vote is while your children are in school, so you need time off from work to vote, or any other reason why you need time off of work for voting.
- Don’t Assume it’s Okay: The worse thing you can do is leave work, come in late, or leave early to vote without telling your boss, or coming in the day of voting and telling them. They might have a plan for the day that you just threw off, and can build general distrust in their ability to rely on you.
- Don’t take it as a Break: If your boss allows you time off to vote, don’t take advantage of it. You are being allowed time off to vote, not stop for a quick bite or some shopping afterwards. This doesn’t mean you can’t grab drive-thru on the way back, or ask your boss if it is okay to take a lunch break as well, just don’t take all day to go vote and come back.
- Don’t Be Afraid to Vote: While Florida state law doesn’t require business owners to give you time to vote, it does protect you from any discriminatory actions based on your voting. Even if you vote for a candidate that your boss passionately hates, they can not fire you, or take any other disciplinary actions against you for it.
The future of America is in your hands, don’t feel like you can’t be a part of it because of your work schedule. Talk to your boss about taking time off of work to vote, so you can make a difference. If you are a business owner, and don’t have an employee handbook already created for your business that states the policies for voting leave, contact Vision H.R. and learn how we can build a comprehensive employee handbook. We help several businesses in Daytona Beach with payroll services, human resource management, and even management training. To get your company ready for voting day, contact us at (877) 641-0012 for a free quote.
