SEPTEMBER EDITION

Your Compliance Questions, Answered: Voting Leave by State, Updates to Okla.’s Medical Marijuana Law, and Calif.’s Bereavement Leave Amendment

By Christina Everling, GovDocs Attorney
Employment Law and Compliance
October 27, 2026

Your Compliance Questions Answered from GovDocs on Paid Voting Leave by State

GovDocs’ Employment Law & Compliance Team answers three questions employers are asking most this month. This edition covers which states require paid or unpaid voting leave ahead of the Nov. 3, 2026 midterms, how Oklahoma’s HB 3127 redefines safety sensitive positions and adds a zero tolerance standard effective Nov. 1, 2026, and how California’s SB 1149 extends bereavement leave to a designated person starting Jan. 1, 2027.

In This Edition

Key Takeaways

Which states allow time off for voting?

Most states have voting leave laws, and most of those laws require the leave to be paid.

How is Oklahoma Changing its Medical Marijuana Law for Employers?

Oklahoma’s amendment to its Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act takes effect Nov. 1, 2026, under HB 3127.

How Will California’s Bereavement Leave Change in 2027?

Starting Jan. 1, 2027, California employees can take bereavement leave after the death of a “designated person,” in addition to the family members already covered.

Staying compliant in today’s rapidly evolving employment law landscape often raises more questions than answers. Each month, Christina Everling, GovDocs’ Attorney on the Employment Law & Compliance Team, tackles the employment law compliance questions employers across the country ask most.

Which states allow time off for voting?

With the midterm elections approaching on Nov. 3, 2026, employers may be wondering whether they need to allow employees time off to vote, and if so, whether that leave is paid or unpaid. Most states have voting leave laws, and most of those laws require the leave to be paid. Below is a breakdown of states with paid voting leave and unpaid voting leave, and the time allotted to vote in those states.

Paid Voting Leave by State

State	Allotted Time
Alaska	“As much working time as will enable voting”
Arizona	Time that yields 3 consecutive hours
California	Up to 2 hours
Colorado	Up to 2 hours
District of Columbia	At least 2 hours
Illinois	2 hours
Iowa	Time that yields 2 consecutive hours
Kansas	Up to 2 consecutive hours
Maryland	Up to 2 hours
Minnesota	Time necessary to vote
Missouri	3 hours
Nebraska	Time that yields 2 consecutive hours
Nevada	1 to 3 hours
New Mexico	2 hours
New York	Up to 2 hours
Oklahoma	2 hours
South Dakota	2 hours
Tennessee	Up to 3 hours
Texas	Reasonable time
Utah	Up to 2 hours
West Virginia	Up to 3 hours
Wyoming	1 hour

Which states have unpaid voting leave?

Unpaid Voting Leave by State

State	Allotted Time
Alabama	1 hour
Arkansas	No time specified
Georgia	Up to 2 hours
Kentucky	A reasonable period, not less than 4 hours
Massachusetts	First 2 hours after the polls open
Ohio	Reasonable time
Wisconsin	Up to 3 hours

While employers in these states must permit employees to take time off to vote, there is a common exception: voting leave does not cover employees who have enough nonworking time to vote while polls are open. The threshold for sufficient voting time outside of work ranges from two consecutive hours (AK, IA, IL, KS, MD, NE, SD, TX) to four consecutive hours (NY). In Alabama and New Mexico, the exception is asymmetric. Alabama excludes employees with at least two hours before work or at least one hour after work available to vote, and New Mexico excludes employees with more than two hours before work or more than three hours after work available to vote.

A few states also require voting leave-related postings. In California and New York, these postings must be displayed 10 days in advance of elections, while in D.C., the posting must be displayed 60 days in advance.

Employers with GovDocs Paid Leave can learn more in the Voting Leave Requirements document on the Resources Tab.

How is Oklahoma Changing its Medical Marijuana Law for Employers?

Oklahoma’s amendment to its Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act takes effect Nov. 1, 2026, under HB 3127. This bill revises the definition of “safety sensitive positions,” implements a zero-tolerance policy, and expands an employer’s authority to act on positive marijuana tests.

Safety Sensitive Positions

Under the original law, “safety sensitive” is subjective, based on what the employer “reasonably believes could affect the safety and health of the employee performing the task or others.” The new definition of “safety sensitive position” covers any position in which the employee performs one or more listed duties, including:

handling hazardous materials,
operating vehicles, equipment, machinery, or power tools,
repairing or maintaining equipment, machinery, or processes that could result in injury or property damage if malfunction occurs,
firefighting,
overseeing critical utility infrastructure,
working with volatile or highly regulated materials,
dispensing pharmaceuticals,
carrying a firearm, and
providing direct patient or child care.

Zero Tolerance

In addition to redefining “safety sensitive position,” HB 3127 also introduces a zero-tolerance drug and alcohol standard for those positions. This standard applies regardless of whether an employer has a policy that permits impairment-based testing or other standards for positions that are not safety sensitive. Furthermore, there is no exception for employees with a medical marijuana license.

Positive Marijuana Tests

Under current law, an employer may not refuse to hire, discipline, discharge, or otherwise penalize an employee based on a positive marijuana test, with two exceptions:

The applicant or employee does not have a valid medical marijuana license, or
The licensee possesses, consumes, or is under the influence of medical marijuana at work or during job duties.

HB 3127 adds a third exception:

The action is taken pursuant to a written drug and alcohol testing policy adopted and enforced in accordance with the Oklahoma Standards for Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Act.

Next Steps

Oklahoma employers should review employee positions to determine which ones qualify as safety sensitive positions and are therefore subject to the zero-tolerance standard. If an employer has a drug policy, it should confirm that the policy meets the Oklahoma Standards for Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Act.

Employers nationwide can learn more about marijuana laws in different states with GovDocs’ Marijuana Guide.

How Will California’s Bereavement Leave Change in 2027?

Starting Jan. 1, 2027, California employees can take bereavement leave after the death of a “designated person,” in addition to the family members already covered. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 1149 on Sept. 27, 2026, adding the category to the bereavement leave law.

Current law covers the death of a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, domestic partner, or parent-in-law. Extended relatives and people with a close, non-blood relationship fall outside that list today. SB 1149 closes the gap by covering any individual related to the employee by blood or whose relationship with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.

Employees do not need to name a designated person in advance. They can identify the person when they request leave. Employers may limit each employee to one designated person per 12-month period.

The rest of the leave rules stay the same. Employers with five or more employees must allow an eligible employee up to five days of bereavement leave within three months of the death. The employee must have worked for the employer for at least 30 days before the leave begins. The leave is generally unpaid unless the employer’s policy provides otherwise, although employees may use accrued vacation, personal leave, sick leave, or compensatory time off to be paid. Employers cannot interfere with the right to leave or retaliate against an employee for using it.

The change also brings bereavement leave in line with designated person provisions elsewhere in California law. AB 1041 added the concept to CFRA family care leave and paid sick leave effective Jan. 1, 2023, and SB 590 will extend it to Paid Family Leave on July 1, 2028. Employers that already handle designated person requests under those programs will recognize the same definition and the same 12-month limit.

GovDocs Paid Leave tracks bereavement leave requirements by location and sends proactive notifications when laws change.

A Labor Law Poster Program That Scales With You

Stay ahead of labor law changes with GovDocs’ labor law poster update program. Your poster program comes full circle backed by compliance experts, powered by LocationCheck™ technology, and built for multi-jurisdiction complexity — we keep your locations audit-ready, automatically.

👉 Explore GovDocs Labor Law Poster Program

Labor Law Poster Program Dashboard GovDocs

Who is GovDocs?

GovDocs is a leading provider of employment law compliance solutions, empowering HR professionals to navigate complex, location-specific labor law postings, minimum wage requirements, and paid leave laws. GovDocs combines innovative technology with dedicated human-touch support to deliver worry-free compliance. Customers benefit from access to a centralized system, trusted resources, and expert employment law support they need, all in one place, to simplify compliance and protect their organization from risk. Trusted by over 35% of Fortune 500 companies, GovDocs focuses on comprehensive coverage of Federal, State, City, and County laws making employment law management seamless for organizations of all sizes.

Have fewer than 30 locations?

The GovDocs Poster Store simplifies posting compliance for employers with less than 30 locations across all industries, offering a variety of posting products to meet your labor law compliance needs.

Your Compliance Questions, Answered: Voting Leave by State, Updates to Okla.’s Medical Marijuana Law, and Calif.’s Bereavement Leave Amendment

Which states allow time off for voting?

Paid Voting Leave by State

Which states have unpaid voting leave?

Unpaid Voting Leave by State

How is Oklahoma Changing its Medical Marijuana Law for Employers?

How Will California’s Bereavement Leave Change in 2027?

A Labor Law Poster Program That Scales With You

about govdocs

Products

resources

Your Compliance Questions, Answered: Voting Leave by State, Updates to Okla.’s Medical Marijuana Law, and Calif.’s Bereavement Leave Amendment

Share this entry

Which states allow time off for voting?

Paid Voting Leave by State

Which states have unpaid voting leave?

Unpaid Voting Leave by State

How is Oklahoma Changing its Medical Marijuana Law for Employers?

How Will California’s Bereavement Leave Change in 2027?

A Labor Law Poster Program That Scales With You

about govdocs

Products

resources