The Office of Personnel Management has issued a memo on
granting federal employees excused absence, or limited
time off from work, for voting in the federal, state,
county or municipal elections or referendums on any
civic matter in their communities.
It said agencies have discretionary authority to grant
time off as long as it does not interfere with
operations, but noted that time off “should rarely be
needed,” due to extended hours are polling places.
“Generally, where the polls are not open at least three
hours either before or after an employee’s regular work
hours, an agency may grant a limited amount of excused
absence that will permit the employee to report for work
three hours after the polls open or leave from work three
hours before the polls close, whichever requires the
lesser amount of time off,” according to OPM.
It said “regular work hours” should be based on employees
normal work schedules, and that “if an employee is scheduled
to work from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the employee
