2024 New Brunswick election: employer obligations

By John Morse

The New Brunswick provincial election is set to take place on Monday, October 21, 2024, with polling hours between 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Under the New Brunswick Elections Act, all employees who are eligible voters (i.e., Canadian citizens aged 18 and older) are entitled to three consecutive hours off work during polling hours to ensure they can cast their vote.

Employers are only required to provide employees time off if the employees’ work schedule does not provide the employee with 3 consecutive hours to vote.

For example, an employee working from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. will have three consecutive hours to vote after work (5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.), and is not entitled to time off to vote. However, an employee working from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. will only have one hour available (7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.) to vote, and must be provided additional paid time off to provide the employee with at least three consecutive hours to vote.

Employers have the discretion to determine when the three consecutive hours will be granted. Possible options include:

(a) Allowing employees to leave work at 5:00 p.m. to provide three hours (5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.);

(b) Allowing employees to start work later, such as at 1:00pm, enabling them to vote from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00pm; or

(c) Offering three consecutive hours off at any point during the workday while the polls are open.

Employers are prohibited from interfering with an employee’s right to vote. This includes preventing access to the time off for voting, intimidation, or any other form of coercion. Employers are also prohibited from deducting pay or imposing penalties on employees for the time taken off to vote.

This client update is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have any questions about the above, please contact the authors, or a member of our Labour & Employment Group.

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