Ontario 2022 election: Employee voting rights and employer obligations

The Ontario provincial election has been called for June 2, 2022. Ahead of election day, employees and employers should be aware of their legal rights and obligations under the Election Act (the “Act”) with respect to time off.

Time off to vote

In accordance with the Act, every employee who is qualified as an elector to vote must be provided with three consecutive hours away from work for the purpose of voting. In this election, the polls will be open from 9am to 9pm (Eastern Time).

If an employee is not scheduled to work on election day or is not scheduled to work for at least three consecutive hours that fall within voting hours, the employer is not required to provide the employee with paid time off from work. For example, an employee who is scheduled to work 9am to 5pm would not be entitled to additional time off since they would have three consecutive hours upon finishing work to vote.

However, if an employee’s hours of employment do not allow for three consecutive hours off within this period, the employer must provide additional time to meet that requirement should the employee request it. For example, if an employee is scheduled to work 11am to 7pm, the employer must provide time off to allow the employee to vote if requested. As per the Act, the time off provided can be granted at the time of day that best suits the employer. This means that an employer is not required to grant three hours off in the middle of the day but rather, for the 11am to 7pm example, the employer could allow the employee to start work at 12pm or leave work at 6pm. This way the employee would have either three consecutive hours in the morning or three consecutive hours in the evening to vote. The employer would still be required to pay the employee for the one hour taken to vote but not for the two hours that fell outside regular working hours.

If an employee takes time off for the purpose of voting, an employer is prohibited to make any deduction from pay, penalize the employee or request proof of voting.

Working at an election

An employee is also entitled to unpaid leave when serving as a returning officer or if the employee has been appointed by a returning officer to be a poll official. An employer is required to grant the unpaid leave to an employee so long as the employee provided notice at least seven days prior to when the leave is to start. The employer is not permitted to dismiss or penalize the employer for exercising their right to be granted leave and employees are entitled to continue to accrue vacation time while on unpaid leave.

Penalties

If an employer interferes or prevents an employee from voting, they could be found guilty of an offence and on conviction be liable for a fine up to $5,000. Further, if a judge finds the employer committed the offence knowingly, the employer could be found guilty of a corrupt practice and be liable for a fine of up to $25,000 or imprisonment for a term of up to two years less a day or both.  

If you have any questions about employee voting rights and employer obligations in Ontario, do not hesitate to contact a lawyer in our Employment and Labour Law Group.

This article provides only general information about legal issues and developments, and is not intended to provide specific legal advice. Please see our disclaimer for more details.