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### TEXIEA~OKNEY 

### GENERAL.

oe-rExAs
.

**.** PRICEDANIEL **Au- 1s.**  **TEXAE** ATTORiaY GENERAL October 27, 1952

.

. Hon. -Sami. Davis

Dlst~lct Attorney Oplniah **NO+** .V-:-$532 HQIMton; Te.xas He’: ‘Necessitg. that ati ~eniployer .I allow employims tlma off to vote .uhen the employees ,Dear Sk have sufficient time to

. .’ ,vote’ outs+ w,o,+lng hours. .*a., .

. kou hi& r.aquegted. in’ op&i&i en’the “&U.~U- ’ $iig ~ques~loa:

‘l!Doei Article **209 Qf**  ttie’ Tekas **P&k"** C.ode .require an employer to 

### give ari employee’
. t~lme 

### off to vote, either with’or : without ptiy, where he har sufflci,ent *line to vote out ~1~~ hi a wprki$@ houre?*1

. .:.;... ,.’

, ArtlOle @W,.; Perkon* 8 Penal C’oaO;- reads8 Whbever .bef&s to ai em~loj& ei- i ‘
. ,-titled to %ote the prlvlle&e of attending the:f. oils, or subjects suoh,e pev ty;or,. deduotiQn 

### of ‘wages “%loyee to a acause of. the eZeroise. ‘3f. s\rc&privilege, .shall, be fined not to exc6ed -five’ ‘huMred dollars. *

. The s6atkte declares’ tk ofidlirbs~;~..naae~yr (1) refusl the .polls; (

’ 1 an. employee ,the prltllege of atteridlng.. ~. sub ectlng the employee. to ‘a’ deductI& of wiges be.cause cd .the exercise .Thus. it is. seen t@t the p$vllS ma exeralse without deduction .o OK wage&under t lege olaose of, the 4tatute ..ls’ Idetitt’icaX’SrIth. the rlvigranted UadrL’ t& fir&t, cl@uJe. ,~Z$Under ii ~. t e f lrst. claUs& th+ tiWloj;rr $ouid :b,a .e.atifled to demand tlnm 

### oif from work 

### in order, to vat& ‘ by virtue of ‘the ‘seaond blade the crmployer could noi atike 

### froia bid fiiy beoaud) of suoh ab~sence. a deduction

I The ‘only.,questlon to be cob3e&d h&e is *whet’fierb;$tlcli’209 aeans that ti BapiIojer..ln all ‘
.. : cases. must permit hls”Wployee’s tij irot? during, working hours or kðer ‘It means only t@at*‘an: kmplzoyer / ’

. ; t...’

. . ‘, ‘l’
. :.. - *.
. ‘P,. h,. hon. Sam W. Davis, p&e 2 (V-i532),
cannot reiuse to allow an employee time off If by such a refusal the employee would be deprived of an opportunlty to vote,

In Attorney Wneralls Opinion O-6242 (19441, one of the questions presented vas whether an employee working only a part of the tllm, the., polls ar4. open on election day 1s entitled to absent himself from his job for the purpose of voting. A further qu6stlon was whether the employme 1s privileged to. leave his .Job in order. to vote at any time he de~slres or whether the employer Is within his rights In prescribing the time allowed during the day for tha’t purpose. In answer to the first question, it was stated that an employee Is entitled to absent himself from. h@ job for a’rea,i sonable time, for the purpos4 gf voting, as explalned~ In the answer to the oth@ qusstlon; which stated:~

*‘Bearing In mind that our bolls are open until 7rOO P.M. that a statute should be Interpreted by its equity, and of ’ the Interdependence of employer and employee in our Industrial alvllleatlon, It la our opinion that’ an employer Is, within the statute and his rlghts~ In preL scribing the time allowed durjng the day for the purpose of voting. The time allowed should be sufficient and fair so as to fully and completely permit the em- .ljleyee to exercise his suffrage. Such
. ‘~ regulations would vary according to local : aondlt$ons; but it ‘should give the employee ampke and convenient tire within which to vote.m

. . .. !!e think the opin&i was Intended tb’mean that an employee Is entitled to. a reasonable length of free time during polling hours and .that if he will have sufflclgnt free,tlme to vote 6nly by tinking a Dart ~of hi.8 working -day9 the em ofer mmst allow him to take off enough tlms to enab e him to ittend the polls while p” they’ are open. The opinion went ‘on to say that the amount of time which must be allowed will vary according to local conditions. We think the term “local conditions” was Intended to Include all the varlouo 

### faotors which would enter Into the time which should 

### be allowed ln each particular case, one of which would be .. the amount of time the employee had frse bifore’ or aft’er vork.Hon. ‘Sam3/.~iavls, page 

### 3 (V-1532) .’ 

# #a &Wad 782%4o.A;;. 1949) v, Day-Brlte~ Llm 

### 220 st,atute which read:. , the cpurt had befoGi It a

: ~‘
. - .. . “Any perron entitled to vote at anf

eleotlon In this state shall on the day of ,moh elect~lon, be entitled .to absent himself from anjr.sel?vlces or emplo ent In which he Is theii engaged or emp:.oyed., p” .fo.r a pe’rlod.of four houm between the times of opening and closing the polls; and such-‘voter ishall. ‘not, because of so. absenting himself, ’ be, liable to any penalty: Provided, however, &hat his employer may specify the hours diirl’ng which such employee may absent himself ” :’ as aforesaid. Any person or, corporation ‘
. ’ who shall refuse to any employee, the privilege hereby conferred, or shall dlscharge or threaten to:dlscharge tiny em’- ployee for absenting *himself from his.. work for the purpose of.sald election, or shall cause any employee to suffer any penalty or deduction of ’.wages because of the exercise of such privilege, or who shall; directly or indirectly, violate the provisions o$ this section, shall be deemed guilty 

### of a misdemeanor, and. on .convlttlon thersof be ,f lned In ~~,a~ snot e,xceeding five hundred dol-

., The court constrned 4& sfat&Zto mean that an employee itaa entitled, to ’abseiit h$iaself from wo.pk for a aufflclent ,length Of time to give’ him f@r fi?ee 

### hoated-lag, tttd plrlo&::t~tL~e pollb wese dpdn; #a-t

,I

. . i 

### Gne ‘theory advadcbd Is that under this section the employee .is clnbStl$ .’ ‘
. to four hours! absenos fro@ .&is regular ‘working hours 

### on the day 

### of election, whereas another theory advanced ‘ 1s th::t the em-, ployee is entitled to four hoursi time In which to vote during the thlrte~en hour8 ‘oomprlsing an election day* This last stated theory whfch we %hlnk Is correct t meane ‘that I? the ,employee+s regular working day leaves him at least four coilsacutlve hours on election day during whtch he would not :. Hon. Am Wi Davis, paga 4 (v-1532) be engaged in actual seixlce to his es-

. ployer, the object and the ,gurpose ,of. the statute has been met ,, and such employee Is not entitled to be absent from his rcgula,r working hours at’ all; or, if such time when the employee’& not. actuall$&n:age+ in service to his employer is less than four hours .(ln this.aase two and, one-half hours), the employer shall permit the absence of -the employee from his services for a sufficient time (In this case one and one-half h6urs) to ma up four full ho&e., e ‘
. et’ The. cou& stated the purpose of the M.ssouri statute In $bo following ,Sang*age:

. ! ~.“That every c9Mrm -#hoaM be given both the ‘iight ‘and the ‘oppotitunfty to ‘vote .id a matter of publia intere~st, 

### aad 

# aY’ law having for &t$ purpose the iuar- ;$o;:dof 6uch -right and opportuhlty

“R npheld I$ It is oeslble to do so0 3uc tre take i.t was 

# t L J.eglslatlte m;:” P the enactment of Sectlonnd the purpose 0~ leglslatlre Intent wad 

### not to financially enrich the voter or to place an unnoae@rary and Mrgtisonsble burden on the rmoyer. i a . c1 ,.
Xhlle the Toxaa statute does not-fix the letigtti’of time which is aonrldered sufficient f@r 3otingi the purpose of these :tw~: rtatutos IS the ~ry.~ The essential dii- 

### ~$orettcr~

etvoeatbr 

### Xls#ourlrtatutr 

### apd the Wxas stat

### citr,.ls. t L t 

### the Gtter makes a detrrainatlon OS ,the t&m tb b8 s;lloMd depend upon the olrcuwtanoss in each .putiOular oaaa, 

### euch aa the a#uat of time available , 

### uatr¶Ar v&jag h-s, the dilltLrvar the employee mU&% travel %a reruh’ tM polling, pla&a +nd the time required for traversing the distance:by available nodes of travel, .
. . congestion at the polls, eta. t Is not rsqalrid ro the employee. Hon. Sam’Wi Davis, page .5 (V-1532)
oi ~attendi~ .the polls or if ‘wage.s”are deducted Sor 

### suchadditI,onal

klme. gufficiency of time is, of, course,, 

### a ‘question of ’ fact deperfding upon the olrcumstances izr eeoh particu+r aase. : .

.c 

### &g&g&g ‘~-: .1 :) 

### Artlclfi'i09'

v*p&.;‘i&a ndt r&&irr~... an 

### employers

.t~ ailovany

empltir time dff to vote whijre .the employee has :Jwflcient time to ‘vote outside hi$,vorki ,If an elpployee does not have..s 3 hours.~ ?lclent tilae to ‘vote ‘outside. his working hours, it would be violative of Artiale:,209, V.P .C., 

### for an.F.employer to deny-him $uch additional, time as’is necessary to att,ehd the polla or to deduct wages for such addltlonal’tine, What constitutes a suffloleht time for voting is e question of fact depending upon the. circumstances ,ti each particular case .~. 

### APPROVED: l:í ~~ E. Jaoobson .&ecutive Assistant


### MIW:vb

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Pours very truly, ’ PRICE 

### DAnfEL Attorney 

### General Mary K, Wall Asslstant