American Family gives staff paid day off to vote
The American Family Insurance Group is giving its thousands of employees nationwide a paid day off to vote in the upcoming presidential election.
The Madison-based insurance company is giving more than 13,500 employees across the country a paid day off to head to the polls. American Family will also open two facilities in Madison to be used as polling places. Employees can take off election day — Nov. 3 — or another day during their state’s early or absentee voting period.
“American Family has always valued engaging in the civic process by offering paid time off for voting,” American Family Enterprise President Bill Westrate said in a news release. “Because of the unique safety and scheduling challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re offering a full paid day off this election season to ensure all our employees can easily vote.”
Under Wisconsin law, employers are required to allow employees to be absent from work for up to three consecutive hours to vote. Employees must give their employer advanced warning. The time off to vote does not have to be paid.
“Voting shouldn’t be a hardship for Americans,” Westrate said in the release. “We urge other companies to make participation in elections easier for their employees.”
Sarah Hauer can be reached at shauer@journalsentinel.com or on Instagram @HauerSarah and Twitter @SarahHauer. Subscribe to her weekly newsletter Be MKE at jsonline.com/bemke.