Obama wants to know: Can you take Tuesday off?
VOTING DRIVE | 'It's a patriotic thing,' but not all can do it
Excited about Election Day? Want to take time off to vote -- or to volunteer to help get others out to vote? What about your job?
Barack Obama's campaign is asking workers and students who have the option to request Election Day off and volunteer in the campaign's get-out-the-vote effort.
(AP)
"Can you take Tuesday off from work? Talk to your boss. Talk to your professors and ask for the day off," an e-mail and video sent out by the campaign say.
But given these difficult economic times, asking for time off from work could be a bad idea for some, said John Challenger, chief executive officer of Chicago-based outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
"If you feel that right now your workload is such that not being there one day is going to cause some real difficulty, it's probably not a good idea," he said. "But at the same time, if you're not worried that taking the day off is something that's going to cause you harm or your company harm, and the company or your boss gives you some flexibility, it's a great way to get involved in the political process that's so important to the country. It's a patriotic thing to do."
What about finding time just to make it to the polls to vote?
In Illinois any eligible voter is allowed up to two hours paid leave for voting in general or special elections if the employee's work hours begin less than two hours after the opening of the polls and end less than two hours before the closing of the polls. That's according to Chicago labor attorney and managing partner Fred Schwartz of Littler Mendelson.
But the employee must make the request to leave early or stay late before Election Day, and the boss can specify the hours during which the worker may be absent, Schwartz said.