Time Off to Vote Act
Bill: H.R.7489 | Sponsor: Rep. Cartwright, Matt (D-PA)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Time Off to Vote Act
This bill requires an employer, upon the request of an employee, to provide the employee with a minimum of two consecutive hours of paid leave in order to vote in a federal election.
The employer may determine the two-hour period, excluding any lunch break or other break.
Taking such leave shall not result in the employee losing accrued employment benefits.
The bill makes it unlawful for an employer to interfere with the right to take such leave or for an employer to discriminate against an employee for taking such leave. Further, the bill makes it unlawful for any employer to retaliate against an employee for (1) opposing any practice made unlawful by this bill; (2) filing a charge, or instituting or causing to be instituted any proceeding, under or related to this bill; or (3) testifying or preparing to testify in an inquiry or proceeding relating to such leave.
The bill specifies penalties for employers who violate these provisions.

To provide employees with a minimum of two consecutive hours of paid 
              leave in order to vote in Federal elections.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR TWO HOURS PAID LEAVE TO VOTE IN FEDERAL 
              ELECTIONS.

    (a) Requirement To Provide Leave.--Upon the request of an employee, 
an employer shall provide to each employee a minimum of two consecutive 
hours of paid leave on the day of any Federal election in order to 
vote.
    (b) Employer Right To Determine Two-Hour Period.--For each employee 
taking leave under subsection (a), the employer of such employee may 
specify the hours during which the employee may take such leave, 
including by requiring that the employee take the leave during a period 
designated for early voting instead of on the day of the election, as 
applicable under State law. Any lunch break or other break period may 
not be included in the two-hour period designated for leave, but may be 
taken consecutively with the 2-hour period described in subsection (a).
    (c) No Loss of Benefits.--The taking of leave under this section 
shall not result in the loss of any employment 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 interfere with, restrain, or deny 
        the exercise of or the attempt 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 discriminate against any 
        individual for--
                    (A) opposing any practice made unlawful by this 
                section;
                    (B) filing any charge, or instituting or causing to 
                be instituted any proceeding, under or related to this 
                section;
                    (C) giving or preparing to give any information in 
                connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating to 
                any leave provided under this section; or
                    (D) testifying or preparing to testify in any 
                inquiry or proceeding relating to any leave provided 
                under this section.
    (e) Investigative Authority.--The Secretary of Labor shall have 
investigative authority with respect to the provisions of this 
subsection in the same manner and under the same terms and conditions 
as the investigative authority provided under section 106 of the Family 
and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2616), and the requirements of 
section 106 of such Act shall apply to employers under this subsection 
in the same manner as such requirements apply to employers under 
section 106 of such Act.
    (f) Enforcement.--
            (1) In general.--Any employer that violates this Act may be 
        subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $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 recovered 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 office.
            (2) Considerations.--In assessing a civil penalty under 
        this Act, the Secretary shall give due consideration 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 engaged in 
        commerce or in any industry or activity affecting commerce who 
        employs 25 or more employees during a calendar year, and 
        includes any person who acts, directly or indirectly, in the 
        interest of an 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 ``industry or 
        activity affecting commerce'' have the meaning given such terms 
        in section 101(1) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.
    (h) State and Local Laws.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed 
to supersede any provision of any State or local law that requires an 
employer to provide leave to an employee, for the purpose of voting in 
any Federal, State, or municipal election, in an amount greater than 
that required under this Act, or under terms more beneficial to an 
employee than those provided under this Act.
    (i) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect beginning with 
the first Federal election held after the date of enactment of this 
Act.
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