I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3038 
To provide employees with 2 hours of paid leave in order to vote in Federal 
elections. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 23, 2017 
Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. CLARKE of New York, 
Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. EVANS, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, 
Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. MCGOVERN, 
Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. MOORE, Mr. NADLER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. POCAN, 
Mr. POLIS, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. VARGAS, and Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To provide employees with 2 hours of paid leave in order 
to vote in Federal elections. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Time Off to Vote Act’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:13 Jun 30, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3038.IH
H3038
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR 2 HOURS PAID LEAVE TO VOTE 
IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS. 
(a) ENTITLEMENT TO LEAVE.—An employee shall be 
entitled to 2 hours of paid leave on the day of any Federal 
election in order to vote. 
(b) EMPLOYER RIGHT TO DETERMINE 2-HOUR PE-
RIOD.—For each employee taking leave under subsection 
(a), the employer of such employee may designate the 2- 
hour period during which the employee may take leave. 
Any lunch break or other break period may not be in-
cluded in the 2-hour period designated for leave. 
(c) NO LOSS OF BENEFITS.—The taking of leave 
under this section shall not result in the loss of any em-
ployment benefit accrued prior to the date on which the 
leave was taken. 
(d) PROHIBITED ACTS.— 
(1) INTERFERENCE WITH RIGHTS UNDER THIS 
ACT.—It shall be unlawful for any employer to inter-
fere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of or the at-
tempt to exercise, the right to take leave under this 
Act, or to discriminate against an employee in any 
manner for taking leave under this Act. 
(2) RETALIATION.—It shall be unlawful for any 
employer to discharge or in any other manner dis-
criminate against any individual for— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:33 Jul 01, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3038.IH
H3038
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS
ceed $10,000 per violation. Civil penalties shall be 
assessed by and paid to the Secretary of Labor for 
deposit into the Treasury of the United States and 
shall accrue to the United States and may be recov-
ered in a civil action in the name of the United 
States brought in the United States district court 
for the district where the violation is alleged to have 
occurred or where the employer has its principal of-
fice. 
(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In assessing a civil pen-
alty under this Act, the Secretary shall give due con-
sideration to the appropriateness of the penalty with 
respect to the size of the business of the employer 
being charged, the gravity of the violation, the good 
faith of the employer, and the history of previous 
violations. 
(g) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘employee’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards 
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203); and 
(2) the term ‘‘employer’’ means any person en-
gaged in commerce or in any industry or activity af-
fecting commerce who employs 25 or more employ-
ees during a calendar year, and includes any person 
who acts, directly or indirectly, in the interest of an 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:13 Jun 30, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3038.IH
H3038
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS
employer to any of the employees of such employer 
and any successor in interest of an employer. In the 
previous sentence, the terms ‘‘commerce’’ and ‘‘in-
dustry or activity affecting commerce’’ have the 
meaning given such terms in section 101(1) of the 
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. 
(h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 
beginning with the first Federal election held after the 
date of enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:13 Jun 30, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H3038.IH
H3038
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS