Voting Leave Requirements in District of Columbia
At a glance
| Governing law | D.C. Code § 1-1001.07a |
|---|---|
| Eligible workers and elections | Any employee eligible to vote; covers a District election under the elections subchapter, or, for non-District voters, the election run where the employee is eligible (§ 1-1001.07a(b)(1)) |
| Outside-work-hours test | None; leave is on request, the only condition being that the employee would have been scheduled to work during the requested time (§ 1-1001.07a(b)(1)) |
| Time-off amount | At least 2 hours of paid leave to vote in person — a floor, not a cap (§ 1-1001.07a(b)(1)) |
| Paid or unpaid | Paid; no deduction from salary, wages, or accrued leave (§ 1-1001.07a(b)(1), (b)(3)) |
| When leave is taken | Employer may specify the hours, including requiring early-voting days or the beginning or end of working hours (§ 1-1001.07a(b)(2)(B)) |
| Employee notice and employer posting | Employer may require a reasonable-advance request; employer must post and maintain a conspicuous notice of these provisions (§ 1-1001.07a(b)(2)(A), (b)(5)) |
| Protection and penalties | Unlawful to interfere with, restrain, or deny the leave, or to retaliate in any manner for taking it (§ 1-1001.07a(b)(4)) |
At least two paid hours, on request
The District's rule is simple and generous compared with many states. When an employee asks, the employer must provide "at least 2 hours of paid leave to vote in person." The two hours is a floor, not a ceiling, and it is paid: the employer may not deduct from the employee's salary, wages, or accrued leave for the time.
There is no outside-work-hours test. Most state statutes withhold leave from a worker who already has a block of free time while the polls are open; the District's version does not. The only stated condition is that the employee "would have been scheduled to work during the time for which the leave is requested" — that is, the leave covers work time, not time the employee already had off.
It also covers elections in other jurisdictions
Many people who work in the District are registered to vote in Maryland or Virginia. Section 1-1001.07a reaches them: the paid leave applies to a District election, or, "if the employee is not eligible to vote in the District, in any election run by the jurisdiction in which the employee is eligible to vote." The right follows where the employee actually votes.
What the employer controls
The employer keeps two levers. It may require the employee to request the leave "a reasonable time in advance," and it may specify the hours, including by requiring the employee to use an early-voting day rather than election day, or to take the leave at the beginning or end of the working shift. Within those limits the paid two-hour minimum still stands.
Notice, posting, and protection
The employer must post and maintain, in a conspicuous place, a notice describing these rights. Beyond that, it is unlawful for an employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny an attempt to take the leave, or to retaliate against an employee "in any manner" for taking it.
What trips people up
The "two hours" is a minimum. An employer that treats it as a hard cap when a particular polling situation needs more time is reading the statute backwards; it says "at least" two hours.
The advance-request and hour-designation powers are real but limited. An employer can channel voting to early voting or a shift edge, but it cannot use that power to effectively deny the paid leave, which would be unlawful interference.
Common questions
Do I have to lack free time to qualify?
No. Unlike most states, the District imposes no outside-work-hours test. On request, you get at least two paid hours for time you were scheduled to work.
I work in DC but vote in Maryland. Am I covered?
Yes. The leave applies to the election run by the jurisdiction where you are eligible to vote.
Can my employer make me vote early instead of on election day?
Yes. The employer may require you to take the leave during a designated early-voting period, or at the start or end of your shift.
Can my pay or leave balance be docked?
No. The employer may not deduct from your salary, wages, or accrued leave.
Statutes and sources
- D.C. Code § 1-1001.07a(b): the two-hour paid-leave right, coverage of out-of-District elections, the employer's advance-request and hour-designation powers, the no-deduction rule, the anti-interference and anti-retaliation bans, and the posting duty — official text (accessed July 13, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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