TOPLINE
Apple will give all employees free time to vote in the 2020 presidential election, Bloomberg he reported Friday, joining hundreds of other companies that have already taken similar steps to encourage voting in the 2020 presidential election.
Customers wait in line to enter the Apple Store when New York City enters Phase 4 of the reopening … [+]
KEY FACTS
Quoting an internal note, Bloomberg reported that employees will be given up to four hours to vote or to volunteer at a polling place.
The policy applies to the company’s thousands of low-paid retail workers.
Apple doesn’t seem to go so far as to declare Election Day a company holiday, as Twitter and Patagonia have pledged.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.
Crucial quote
“For retail team members and hourly workers across the company, if you’re scheduled to work this Election Day, we’ll provide up to four hours of paid time off if you need it to get to the polls. If chosen, our teams can also use this time to volunteer as poll workers at one of their local polling stations, “the memo says, according to Bloomberg.
PEG NEWS
Hundreds of other companies have already pledged to give their employees paid time off to vote. A nonpartisan campaign called Time To Vote, which was launched in 2018 by a coalition of companies led by Patagonia, has already garnered 470 signatures on board, including Walmart, Visa and Uber. It is unclear whether Apple will participate in the Time To Vote campaign.
Key background
Supporters say giving employees free time to vote will increase voter participation, especially for low-wage workers who typically can’t afford to take the day off. Some states require employers to give workers free time to vote, but the rules differ from state to state and not all require that time be paid or some only give employees a few hours, which may not be enough. In recent years, there has been a push at both the state and federal levels to make Election Day a national holiday, but the effort faces strong opposition from Republicans.
