Employee Voting Leave in Illinois

Effective August 22, 2005, any person entitled to vote in a general or special election or at any election at which propositions are submitted to a popular vote in Illinois is entitled to take a paid leave of absence from work for a period of two hours between the time the polls open and close.

Employers are prohibited from subjecting employees to any penalty, including any reduction in compensation, due to taking a leave of absence in order to vote.

Advance notice requirements. An employee taking time off to vote may not be penalized in any way, so long as a request for time off to vote is made prior to election day.

Amount of time off allowed. The employer may specify the hours during which employees may take time off to vote, except that the employer must allow a leave of two hours during working hours if the employee's work hours begin less than two hours after the opening of the polls and end less than two hours from closing of the polls.