Jude Joffe-Block/KJZZ

State law requires employers to provide paid time off for workers to vote – in certain situations. 

If there are fewer than three consecutive hours between the polls opening and you starting work, the law says you’re entitled to paid time off to vote.  For example, polls in Maricopa County open at 6 a.m. If you start work at 7 and you’re late because you went to vote, the law says your boss cannot dock your pay.

Same thing with the end of your shift. Polls close at 7 p.m., so if you usually leave work at 6, you could potentially leave early.

Here’s the key though, the law says employees must request paid time off before Election Day.

It also says employers can specify the hours workers take off. Employers who violate the law are guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by fines and up to four months in jail.