On Monday, October 19, 2015, Canadians will return to the polls to elect a federal government. Pursuant to the Canada Elections Act (the “Act”), every Canadian citizen who is 18 years of age or older is entitled to three consecutive hours while polls are open on election day in order to cast their vote.
REQUIRED TIME OFF FROM WORK TO VOTE
As set out in the Act, the voting hours in Ontario begin at 9:30 a.m. and end at 9:30 p.m. If an employee’s work schedule is such that he or she would not typically have the required three consecutive hours within which to vote, the employer must provide the employee time off from work to the extent necessary to attain that minimum three-hour requirement.
NO REDUCTION IN PAY
Employers may not deduct or reduce an employee’s pay as a result of being provided time off to vote and may not otherwise penalize an employee for exercising his or her right to vote. If an employee is required to work less than his or her regular hours on election day in order to be provided with the required time off to vote, the employee must nonetheless be paid as though he or she worked the full regular day of work.
For example, if an employee is scheduled to work from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on election day, he or she would have only 2 ½ hours free from work before the polls close. In this example, the employer would most easily meet its obligation by permitting the employee to leave work one half hour early (at 6:30 p.m.) so that he or she is provided with the required three-hour block of time before polls close at 9:30 p.m. However, employers may choose when to provide the three consecutive hours at a time most convenient for them. In the above example, if it were essential for the business that the employee be at work until 7:00 pm, the employer could, for example, permit the employee to come into work at 12:30 pm in order to satisfy its obligation under the Act.
EXCEPTIONS
Not all employees are entitled to this three-hour block of time to cast their ballot. An employee of a company that transports goods or passengers by land, air or water who is employed outside his or her polling district in the operation of a means of transportation is not entitled to the time free from work pursuant to the Act if the provision of the time off interferes with the transportation service.
UNIONIZED EMPLOYEES
Additionally, employers of unionized employees should review their collective agreement, as it may contain a provision regarding the unionized employees’ right to time off to vote beyond the three-hour requirement set out in the Act.
PENALTY FOR NON-COMPLIANCE
A violation of the requirement to provide three consecutive hours free from work without a deduction in pay may result in a fine of up to $2,000 or imprisonment for up to three months.
This blog is provided as information and a summary of workplace legal issues.
This information is not intended as legal advice.
