American Family Insurance gives employees paid time off to vote

MILWAUKEE - The presidential election is only seven weeks away. One large company is taking an extra step to make sure its employees have time to vote. 

Finding time on a Tuesday to vote can be a challenge for those working a 9-5 job. Add in the challenges posed by the pandemic -- and it's even more complicated in 2020.

"2020 has just been a very eventful year for our employees. What we’re finding is our employees are working harder than ever," said Tracy Schweitzer, Vice President of Human Resources.

American Family Insurance is looking to make things easier for its employees. Announcing all 13,000 workers across the country will get a full day of paid time off to vote. 

"What we’ve decided to do is expand our paid time off for voting. We’ve long held that voting is an important part of your civic duty and have offered employees paid time off to do so, but with the pandemic and the additional responsibilities with childcare, we decided that our employees needed some additional flexibility," said Schweitzer.

The employees can use the time on Nov. 3 or during their state's early and absentee voting period. They are not required to show proof that they actually voted. 

A representative for the company says she hopes more employers do something similar. 

"We would encourage all employers to make sure that their employees have time to vote and perform their civic duty," said Schweitzer.

Two of American Family's facilities in Madison are being used as polling places.