Election Day Leave for Illinois Employees

November 6, 2012 is election day, and millions of Americans across the county will cast their vote for the next President of the United States, as well as on a number of other important issues. In Illinois, under certain circumstances, employees may be entitled to time off work for voting. The state’s Election Code grants employees the right to take two hours of leave from work to vote between polling hours. To take advantage of this leave period, employees must make their requests before Election Day. Employers have the right to specify the hours during which employees can exercise voting leave, but should not otherwise limit employees’ right to take such leave. Employers should consider informing employees of these requirements in advance of the election if absenteeism has been a problem on election days in the past.

For further information, please contact your regular Hinshaw attorney.

Download PDF

This alert has been prepared by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. It is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship.