8/5/2023 0 Comments Criticism of unherdIn a report by Government Executive (GovExec), Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) said the move would “not only directly help more Americans play a part in our democracy… ensure no working American ever has to choose between a paycheck and their right to vote”. It also acknowledged that many employees in the private sector already enjoyed such benefits.įor democracies to shore up civic participation, OPM said, voting would need to be made easier for Americans who traditionally encounter obstacles to taking the necessary time off. In its statement, OPM acknowledged that the federal government’s aspiration to become a model employer made granting employees voting leave a valuable opportunity. This came as part of what Robert Shriver, associate director of employee services at OPM, described as the agency’s “renewed focus on employee engagement, learning, development, health, and wellbeing”. In one of these, OPM shared performance management advice for hybrid-working, in which it emphasised giving staff intentional breaks from work. Read more: Top teleworking tips: Performance management advice for hybrid-working US federal governmentīiden’s goal of turning the federal government into a model employer that prioritises employee engagement has spurred OPM to issue several guidance memos to agency heads in recent months. “Today’s guidance advances fundamental goals of the Biden-Harris Administration: to promote democracy, reduce barriers to voting for federal employees, and further position the federal government as a model employer for other employers to follow.” “The functioning of our democracy and protecting the right to vote are core American ideals,” said Kiran Ahuja, director of OPM. “New guidance released today recognises that voting has evolved beyond a single election day and reduces barriers to voting by directing agencies to provide time off for employees to vote at any time the polls are open, either on election day or during an early voting period,” it said. OPM said Biden had directed it to create more flexible conditions for federal employees to vote, as well as to boost early voting. The move follows an executive order signed by president Joe Biden in March 2021 on promoting access to voting. Until now, OPM has only granted administrative leave to federal workers to vote on election day, and poll work has had to be arranged through “excused absences”. According to a release published by OPM, this time can be combined with other leave for employees wishing to work as non-partisan poll workers and election observers. The US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has given federal employees the right to take leave to vote in federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial elections.Īgency workers may take up to four hours of administrative leave to vote. Administrative leave for federal employees to vote was previously only granted on election day.
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