More businesses giving paid time off on Election Day
about 300 participating companies, which also includes Etsy, Patagonia and Levi Strauss.
“Companies are implementing new policies that make it easier for them and easier for their employees and that also stretch beyond the bare minimum to create consistency when they have a national workforce,” Kessler said.
More and more Illinois companies are going beyond the letter of the law in allowing Election Day time off, either through formal policies or flexibility.
Centro, a Chicago-based advertising technology company, is giving its 700 employees a half-day off on Election Day to encourage voter turnout among its mostly millennial workforce. About 300 employees are in Chicago, with the rest scattered across more than 20 states.
“We’re going to turn Election Day into a national holiday for our employees,” said Centro’s CEO, Shawn Riegsecker, 46.
Riegsecker said the decision was driven by studies showing poor voter turnout among millennials in the 2014 midterms and his concerns that their voices be heard in the upcoming election, where the balance of political power — and their future — could be at stake.
“We have significant long-term issues that we need to solve,” Riegsecker said. “In my opinion, that’s going to fall on the backs of millennials.”
Riegsecker, who considers himself a political independent, said there is no partisanship in his Election Day time-off policy, but he is nonetheless lobbying hard for 100 percent employee participation. He said the company asked all employees to take a selfie with their “I Voted” sticker for a video montage, which would also provide a rough accounting of voter participation.
“We encourage you to do it, and we’re giving you the time to do it, so it’s an expectation going forward,” he said.
David MacNeil, a megadonor to President Donald Trump’s inauguration and founder of southwest suburban car floor mat manufacturer WeatherTech, didn’t offer up a specific plan for Election Day, but he said in an email that the company’s 1,600 employees would all get enough time off to vote.
“For the last 29 years, WeatherTech has supported and encouraged employees to exercise their right to vote, and we have always accommodated employees’ special needs when it comes to needing extra time to make their voice heard,” MacNeil said.
SRW, a 3-year-old Chicago advertising agency, is giving its staff of 25 mostly 20-something employees a paid day off on Election Day.
“Democracy should trump commerce,” said Charlie Stone, 50, cofounder and CEO of the agency. “We really want to encourage folks to engage and participate, regardless of their philosophy.”
Stone said the agency is a hotbed of political dialogue with a “strong collection of opinions.”
“We encourage everybody, regardless of their opinion, to express it, and the best way to express it is to vote,” Stone said. “You’re more likely to vote if you’re paid to vote.”