Midterm elections are November 3rd: Nemeth Bonnette Brouwer explains what employers need to know about employee voting
Media Contact: Barbara Fornasiero; EAFocus Communications; 248.260.8466; barbara@eafocus.com
Detroit – October 27, 2026 – With midterm elections taking place on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, employers need to be prepared to address employee requests to take time off work to vote. Employers should rely on existing policies to guide their responses and take care not to coerce employee’s votes, according to Deborah Brouwer, managing partner at management-side labor and employment law firm Nemeth Bonnette Brouwer PC.
“Michigan law does not guarantee employees time off for election day, whether paid or unpaid, though employers are permitted to offer it,” Brouwer said. “Employee requests regarding voting time off should therefore be granted or denied based on an employer’s existing attendance and time off policies. The law does not prohibit discipline when an employee violates those policies in order to vote.”
For many years, a number of Michigan employers, particularly in the automotive industry, have offered election day as a paid holiday. Others have permitted employees to come in an hour late, leave an hour early, or take an extended lunch break (either paid or unpaid) to make it easier for employees to vote.
“If these or similar benefits are offered, it is important to be clear that the same benefit is being offered to all employees, whether or not they use the time to vote, and of course, without regard for whom the employee votes,” Brouwer said.
Employers in Michigan are prohibited from discharging or threatening to discharge an employee to influence his or her vote. It is also illegal to promise or provide compensation or employment to persuade someone to vote, not vote, or vote in a particular way. Violation of these laws is a misdemeanor offense.
“Employers who permit employees to leave an hour early on election day, but only on the condition employees actually use that hour to vote, would risk running afoul of the law,” Brouwer said.
About Nemeth Bonnette Brouwer PC
Nemeth Bonnette Brouwer specializes in employment litigation, traditional labor law, workplace investigations, and management consultation and training for private and public sector employers. The firm also provides arbitration and mediation services. Woman-owned and led since its founding in 1992, Nemeth Bonnette Brouwer exclusively represents management in the prevention, resolution and litigation of labor and employment disputes.
