Election 2024: Employer Obligations Under Puerto Rico’s General Election Day Paid Leave Law

Takeaways

• Election day in Puerto Rico is Nov. 5, 2024.
• Law No. 58-2020 requires employers to grant employees that vote in Puerto Rico two hours of paid leave to vote, although constraints apply.
• Employers may be subject to penalties for noncompliance.

Related link

• 2024 Election: What Employers Need to Know About Employee Voting Leave

Puerto Rico's General Election Day will take place Nov. 5, 2024. Employers may operate on Election Day during their regular business hours, without any restrictions. However, employers should plan for employees taking time from work to vote.

Puerto Rico Law No. 58-2020 requires employers that operate during Election Day voting hours, 9:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m., grant employees who are scheduled to work during that time and could not request early voting up to two hours of paid leave to vote in person. Employees needing more than two hours to vote may request that their employer charge the additional time against their vacation leave or the additional time necessary to vote will be without pay.

Employees will only be entitled to the two hours of paid leave provided by law to vote if the employee could not anticipate a conflict between their work schedule and the voting hours.

On the other hand, employees will not be entitled to the paid leave provided under Law No. 58-2020 if the employee could anticipate a conflict between their work schedule and the voting hours and did not request early voting or mail-in voting. Employers must still grant the employee time to vote.

Employers that fail to provide employees the time to vote mandated by law may be subject to civil and criminal penalties. Employers should ensure compliance and contact a Jackson Lewis attorney with any questions.