Election Day will be a paid holiday for thousands of Americans this Tuesday. Several companies including General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Square, Hearst Publishing, Patagonia, Casper, and Thrillist have decided to give their employees a fair shot at electing the next President.
There is not currently any federal law in place to force companies to give their employees time for voting. However, many states have requirements of their own. The state legislation varies from place to place but includes laws such as required paid time off for employees, required limited time for voting, and then some states just require companies to allow someone to take leave for voting if they give at least a two weeks notice of time needed.
A campaign called “Take Off Election Day,” was started in order to encourage companies to give time for their employees to vote. The site states:
“It’s time we recognize Election Day as a holiday. At least an unofficial holiday. Take off some time on November 8, 2016. Work can wait. This election is more important than ever.”
Further down the page, you can see companies such as Spotify, EverNote, TaskRabbit, Survey Monkey, and a host of others are giving their employees time on election day to cast their votes.
Patagonia, a clothing company that has long focused on quality, equality, and earth conscious ideals, will be shutting down all retail locations and has even said that you can place an order online, but it will not be filled until the following day. This company, having strong ties to environmental issues knows just how important this election season is to the world. In a statement posted last month, CEO Rose Marcario stated:
“As a business, we have a unique ability to take a stand and choose to prioritize the health of the planet over profit, and I think it’s important we take that opportunity when it truly matters.”
Make sure to check with your place of employment, and if they don’t offer paid leave make sure to ask if you can take the vital time needed to place your vote this Tuesday, our future depends on it.
Featured Image Via Mashable
