{"id":22337,"date":"2020-09-30T18:26:26","date_gmt":"2020-09-30T18:26:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/09\/30\/how-feds-can-balance-work-and-election-day\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:58:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:58:16","slug":"how-feds-can-balance-work-and-election-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/hr\/2020\/09\/30\/how-feds-can-balance-work-and-election-day\/","title":{"rendered":"How feds can balance work and election day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The federal government has a longstanding policy of encouraging agency leaders to offer workplace flexibilities for feds to participate in election day, both as voters and as volunteer poll workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a memo released by the Office of Personnel Management Sept. 29, agencies are being advised to offer employees excused absences if their work hours would put them within three hours of the polls opening or closing in their precinct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor example, if an employee normally works from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the employee\u2019s polling place is open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., the employee should not be granted excused absence for voting, since the employee would still have at least 3 hours after the end of his or her workday to vote,\u201d acting OPM Director Michael Rigas wrote in the memo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever, if an employee normally works from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the employee\u2019s polling place is open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., the employee may be granted a half hour of excused absence from 4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., if requested.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t