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FACT BRIEF

Are employers required to offer time off to vote on Election Day in Wisconsin?

By Hope Karnopp
View this fact brief on Wisconsin Watch
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YES

Wis. Stat. § 6.76 requires all employers in Wisconsin to give employees up to three hours to vote on Election Day. 

According to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, employees must tell their employer before Election Day that they will be absent to vote. The employer can decide what time of day the employee can be excused to vote.

Employers do not have to pay employees for the time lost, but cannot discipline or penalize them in any other way.

Some corporations have moved to offer paid time off or reduce their hours on Election Day.

Wisconsin law also requires employees who become poll workers to receive an unpaid leave of absence on Election Day, if they give seven days' notice. 

State employees who become election officials must continue to receive pay and benefits, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

See a full discussion of this at Wisconsin Watch
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Wisconsin State Legislature Wisconsin Legislature: 6.76(1)
Business Insider More than 1,300 companies have pledged to give their workers time off to vote on Election Day. Here are the retailers and restaurants that have joined the growing movement.
State of Wisconsin Time off for Voting
State of Wisconsin Can I be excused from my regular job to be a poll worker?
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.