OPM reminds agencies to grant feds leave to vote

The Office of Personnel Management on Thursday reminded agencies that they must provide their employees with paid administrative leave for time spent during the workday to vote on Election Day.

In accordance with a 2021 Biden administration executive order promoting voting access, OPM in 2022 began requiring agencies to provide federal employees up to four hours of administrative leave to vote in federal, state, local, tribal and territorial elections, which can be used both on Election Day and during early voting. Additionally, agencies must provide an additional four hours of paid leave to employees who serve as election judges or observers.

In a memo to agency heads Thursday, acting OPM Director Rob Shriver reminded agencies of the new voting leave rules. In 2022, federal workers employed by several agencies, including the Government Publishing Office, the Veterans Affairs Department, Transportation Security Administration, Social Security Administration and the Defense Department reported difficulty in getting their employers to honor the policy.

“As explained in OPM’s March 2022, guidance, agencies should allow employees to use up to four hours of administrative leave for voting in connection with federal general election day and in connection with each election event (including primaries and caucuses) at the federal, state, local, tribal and territorial level,” Shriver wrote. “[Agencies also] should allow employees to use up to four hours of administrative leave per leave year to serve as a non-partisan poll worker or non-partisan observer, and this leave is in addition to any administrative leave an employee uses to vote.”

The memo also clarifies one policy as it pertains to federal employees who serve as poll workers: those employees are not required to return compensation or other fees they receive in connection with their service to their employing agency.