Bill Summary
The "Time Off to Vote Act" is a bill proposed to provide employees in the United States with 2 hours of paid leave in order to vote in federal elections. The act states that all employees are entitled to this paid leave on the day of any federal election. The employer has the right to designate the specific 2-hour period during which the employee can take leave, and this period cannot include any lunch or break time. The act also ensures that employees will not lose any employment benefits due to taking this leave. It prohibits employers from interfering with an employee's right to take this leave or retaliating against an employee for exercising their rights under this act. The Secretary of Labor has the authority to investigate any violations of this act, and employers who violate it may be subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation. The definitions of "employee" and "employer" are also clearly stated in the act. The act will go into effect for the first federal election held after it is enacted.
Possible Impacts
1. This legislation would allow employees to take 2 hours of paid leave to vote in Federal elections. This could benefit people by giving them the time they need to go out and vote without having to worry about missing work or losing pay.
2. Employers would have the right to designate the 2-hour period during which employees can take leave to vote. This could potentially limit the flexibility of employees to choose when they want to vote and could make it more difficult for some people to find time to go vote.
3. The legislation prohibits employers from interfering with or retaliating against employees who take leave to vote. This could protect employees from potential discrimination or negative consequences for exercising their right to vote.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 882 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 882
To provide employees with 2 hours of paid leave in order to vote in
Federal elections.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 30, 2019
Mr. Cartwright (for himself, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Case, Ms. Clarke of
New York, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Connolly, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Gonzalez of Texas,
Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mrs.
Kirkpatrick, Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire, Mr. Loebsack, Mr. McGovern,
Ms. Meng, Mr. McNerney, Ms. Moore, Ms. Mucarsel-Powell, Ms. Norton, Ms.
Omar, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Porter, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Ms. Wasserman Schultz,
Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Gallego, and Mrs. McBath) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide employees with 2 hours of paid leave in order to vote in
Federal elections.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Time Off to Vote Act''.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR 2 HOURS PAID LEAVE TO VOTE IN FEDERAL
ELECTIONS.
(a) Entitlement to Leave.--An employee shall be entitled to 2 hours
of paid leave on the day of any Federal election in order to vote.
(b) Employer Right To Determine 2-Hour Period.--For each employee
taking leave under subsection (a), the employer of such employee may
designate the 2-hour period during which the employee may take leave.
Any lunch break or other break period may not be included in the 2-hour
period designated for leave.
(c) No Loss of Benefits.--The taking of leave under this section
shall not result in the loss of any employment benefit accrued prior to
the date on which the leave was taken.
(d) Prohibited Acts.--
(1) Interference with rights under this act.--It shall be
unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny
the exercise of or the attempt to exercise, the right to take
leave under this Act, or to discriminate against an employee in
any manner for taking leave under this Act.
(2) Retaliation.--It shall be unlawful for any employer to
discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any
individual for--
(A) opposing any practice made unlawful by this
section;
(B) filing any charge, or instituting or causing to
be instituted any proceeding, under or related to this
section;
(C) giving or preparing to give any information in
connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating to
any leave provided under this section; or
(D) testifying or preparing to testify in any
inquiry or proceeding relating to any leave provided
under this section.
(e) Investigative Authority.--The Secretary of Labor shall have
investigative authority with respect to the provisions of this
subsection in the same manner and under the same terms and conditions
as the investigative authority provided under section 106 of the Family
and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2616), and the requirements of
section 106 of such Act shall apply to employers under this subsection
in the same manner as such requirements apply to employers under
section 106 of such Act.
(f) Enforcement.--
(1) In general.--Any employer that violates this Act may be
subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 per violation.
Civil penalties shall be assessed by and paid to the Secretary
of Labor for deposit into the Treasury of the United States and
shall accrue to the United States and may be recovered in a
civil action in the name of the United States brought in the
United States district court for the district where the
violation is alleged to have occurred or where the employer has
its principal office.
(2) Considerations.--In assessing a civil penalty under
this Act, the Secretary shall give due consideration to the
appropriateness of the penalty with respect to the size of the
business of the employer being charged, the gravity of the
violation, the good faith of the employer, and the history of
previous violations.
(g) Definitions.--As used in this Act--
(1) the term ``employee'' has the meaning given such term
in section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.
203); and
(2) the term ``employer'' means any person engaged in
commerce or in any industry or activity affecting commerce who
employs 25 or more employees during a calendar year, and
includes any person who acts, directly or indirectly, in the
interest of an employer to any of the employees of such
employer and any successor in interest of an employer. In the
previous sentence, the terms ``commerce'' and ``industry or
activity affecting commerce'' have the meaning given such terms
in section 101(1) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.
(h) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect beginning with
the first Federal election held after the date of enactment of this
Act.
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