Leaves of Absence for Voting and Serving as an Election Official

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Policy Number:
UW-5059
Old Policy Number:
16.11
Responsible Office:
Office of Human Resources

University Policy

Rationale/​Purpose:

State Statute 7.33 (4) provides that state employees may act as "election officials" without loss of pay when their election duties occur on a scheduled workday. State Statute 6.76 provides leave of absence options for employees when they are unable to vote during non-work hours in elections they are eligible to participate in. This policy identifies the procedures and pay status for engaging in either of these activities.

Definitions:
Election Official
An individual who is charged with any duties relating to the conducting of an election. This includes poll workers.
Scope:

Faculty, Academic Staff, Limited appointees, and University Staff.

Policy:

  1. Leave to Serve as an Election Official

    1. The employee must provide the supervisor at least seven days' written notice of application for leave to serve as an election official. Employees are encouraged to make requests as soon as they know they will serve to enable the supervisor to plan for coverage.
    2. If the employee does not provide verification of the appointment at the time of the request for leave, the employing unit may request the municipal clerk to verify the appointment.
    3. The employee shall be granted time off work for the entire 24-hour period of each election day in which the employee serves as an election official.  The employee will receive pay for any work hours that were scheduled during this 24-hour period.
    4. The employee shall certify in writing the amount of compensation received for such service.
    5. The employing unit payroll shall deduct the amount of compensation received (as certified by the employee) from the employee's pay earned for the scheduled working hours during the 24 hours the employee is on paid leave.

  2. Leave of Absence for Voting

    1. In the unlikely event that an employee cannot vote during non-work hours, they may request (in writing) to vote during work hours. The request must be received by the supervisor prior to the day of the election.  
      1. In these instances, an employee may work with their supervisor to arrange for a flexible schedule which will allow them to vote that day, use appropriate leave time, or take an unpaid leave of absence in circumstances when they do not have any appropriate leave balances and may not flex their work time.
      2. In the event an unpaid leave of absence is the only option, the employee must receive approval to go into unpaid leave of absence status prior to it occurring.
Procedure:

  1. Requesting Time Off to Serve as an Election Official

    1. An employee who requests time off to serve as an election official should complete the UW–Madison Personnel Employee Request to Serve as an Election Official form and give it to the supervisor for approval.

  2. Election Official Payroll Deduction

    1. Submit the amount earned as an Election Official and supporting documentation (i.e. pay stub, letter, etc.) to local Payroll Coordinator.
    2. Payroll Coordinators will submit the information as a ticket to UW Shared Services.
    3. UW Shared Services will make the payroll adjustments and ensure accurate leave accruals
Related UW–Madison Documents, Web Pages, or Other Resources:

UW-Madison Employee Request to Serve as an Election Official

External References:

Policy Administration

Approval Authority:
Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration
Policy Manager:
Interim-Chief Human Resources Officer
Contact:
Director, Workforce Relations -- Megan Dzyuba, megan.dzyuba@wisc.edu, (608) 265-2257
Date Issued:
06-26-2015
Revised Dates:

04-05-2019

Retrieved:
01-28-2023 07:07:18