1-7-102. Employees entitled to vote
Overview of Statute
Employees may absent themselves for two hours on election day for the purpose of voting. Employers may not use this absence as the basis for a discharge of employment, or enforce any other penalty on the employee including deduction in wages or salary. For hourly wage earners, employers must still pay the employee for the allotted two hours. These employees, however, must request leave prior to election day, and their employers can specify the permissible hours for the absence. Should the employee request hours at the beginning or end of a shift, the employers must accept these requests. These provisions will not apply to employees who are not required to work for at least three hours when polls are open on election day.
Statute
(1) Eligible electors entitled to vote at an election shall be entitled to absent themselves for the purpose of voting from any service or employment in which they are then engaged or employed on the day of the election for a period of two hours during the time the polls are open. Any such absence shall not be sufficient reason for the discharge of any person from service or employment. Eligible electors, who so absent themselves shall not be liable for any penalty, nor shall any deduction be made from their usual salary or wages, on account of their absence. Eligible electors who are employed and paid by the hour shall receive their regular hourly wage for the period of their absence, not to exceed two hours. Application shall be made for the leave of absence prior to the day of election. The employer may specify the hours during which the employee may be absent, but the hours shall be at the beginning or end of the work shift, if the employee so requests.
(2) This section shall not apply to any person whose hours of employment on the day of the election are such that there are three or more hours between the time of opening and the time of closing of the polls during which the elector is not required to be on the job.
Source: L. 92: Entire article R&RE, p. 732, § 9, effective January 1, 1993.
Editor’s note: This section is similar to former § 1-7-102 as it existed prior to 1992.
Cross references: For employer guilty of a misdemeanor for violation of this section, see § 1-13-719 (1)(b) and (2).
ANNOTATION
Law reviews. For article, “Punitive Damages in Wrongful Discharge Cases”, see 15 Colo. Law. 658 (1986).
- Cross-References:
- Election Day
1. Definition for Person
Any natural person, partnership, committee, association, corporation, labor organization, political party, or other organization or group of persons. Section 2(11) of article XXVIII of the state constitution.
2. Definition for Section
A bound compilation of initiative forms approved by the secretary of state, which shall include pages that contain the warning required by section 1-40-110 (1), the ballot title, the abstract required by section 1-40-110 (3), and a copy of the proposed measure; succeeding pages that contain the warning, the ballot title, and ruled lines numbered consecutively for registered electors’ signatures; and a final page that contains the affidavit required by section 1-40-111 (2). Each section shall be consecutively prenumbered by the petitioner prior to circulation.
3. Definition for Election
Any election under the “Uniform Election Code of 1992” or the “Colorado Municipal Election Code of 1965”, article 10 of title 31, C.R.S. C.R.S. § 1-7.5-103.