Time to Vote

October 13, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The majority of organizations in a recent survey are lax on policies regarding political activity in the workplace, but more than half allow employees time to vote.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) said its survey of nearly 450 employers found almost two-thirds have no written or unwritten policies on political activities in the workplace; however, 55% indicated they allow staff to take paid or unpaid time off to vote.

According to an SHRM press release, the 35% of organizations with policies on political activities reported one or more of the following restrictions:

  • Prohibited use of company assets in support of any political party or candidate (71%);
  • Employees not allowed to devote any work hours to any political party or candidate campaign (68%);
  • No political activities on company premises (68%), and
  • No employee may use position to pressure vendors, suppliers, or other staff members to show support for or make contributions to any candidate or political party (66%).

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