PSA: You Can Take Two Hours to "Vote" Today and Your Boss Can't Fire You

It’s primary day in New York—did you know you can take two hours off to go “vote” and there’s not a thing your boss can do about it?

It’s true! New York State Election Law § 3-110 provides that employees can take up to two hours off to go fulfill their civic duty—which may or may not include a movie and a long lunch—and still get paid for the time.

There are a few caveats to the law, which does not cover employees deemed to have “sufficient time” outside of work to vote. In New York, that means either four consecutive hours between when the polls open and when you start work or between when you finish work and when the polls close.

The law also requires employees to notify their employers they’ll be taking the Paid Voting Time Off Definitely for Voting and Not For Anything Else “not more than ten and not less than two days” before the polls open. But the notification doesn’t have to be in writing—do you not remember I told you I needed the time last week? Weird...

And if you’re an employee looking for a little leverage next bonus season or just a stickler for rules, New York state law also requires employers post these laws conspicuously in the workplace until the polls close.