[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 18, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1277-S1278]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4629. Ms. HIRONO submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
her to the bill S. 1383, to establish the Veterans Advisory Committee 
on Equal Access, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on 
the table; as follows:

       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Time Off to Vote Act''.

     SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR 2 HOURS PAID LEAVE TO VOTE IN FEDERAL 
                   ELECTIONS.

       (a) Requirement To Provide Leave.--Upon the request of an 
     employee, an employer shall provide to the employee a minimum 
     of 2 consecutive hours of paid leave on a day of any Federal 
     election, while polls or sites that facilitate voting-related 
     activity are open, in order to vote, return in person a 
     ballot that was received in the mail, or perform other 
     voting-related activity.
       (b) Employer Right To Determine Two-Hour Period.--For each 
     employee taking leave under subsection (a), the employer of 
     such employee may specify the hours during which the employee 
     may take such leave, including by requiring that the employee 
     take the leave during a period designated for early voting 
     instead of on the day of the election, as applicable under 
     State law. Any lunch break or other break period may not be 
     included in the 2-hour period designated for leave, but may 
     be taken consecutively with the 2-hour period described in 
     subsection (a).
       (c) No Loss of Benefits.--The taking of leave under this 
     section shall not result in the loss of any employment 
     benefit accrued prior to the date on which the leave was 
     taken.
       (d) Prohibited Acts.--
       (1) Interference with rights under this act.--It shall be 
     unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or 
     deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise, the right to 
     take leave under this Act, or to discriminate against an 
     employee in any manner for taking leave under this Act.
       (2) Retaliation.--It shall be unlawful for any employer to 
     discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any 
     individual for--
       (A) opposing any practice made unlawful by this section;
       (B) filing any charge, or instituting or causing to be 
     instituted any proceeding, under or related to this section;
       (C) giving or preparing to give any information in 
     connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating to any 
     leave provided under this section; or
       (D) testifying or preparing to testify in any inquiry or 
     proceeding relating to any leave provided under this section.
       (e) Investigative Authority.--The Secretary of Labor shall 
     have investigative authority with respect to the provisions 
     of this section in the same manner and under the same terms 
     and conditions as the investigative authority provided under 
     section 106 of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 
     U.S.C. 2616), and the requirements of section 106 of such Act 
     shall apply to employers under this section in the same 
     manner as such requirements apply to employers under section 
     106 of such Act.
       (f) Enforcement.--
       (1) In general.--Any employer that violates this Act may be 
     subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 per 
     violation. Civil penalties shall be assessed by and paid to 
     the Secretary of Labor for deposit into the Treasury of the 
     United States and shall accrue to the United States and may 
     be recovered in a civil action in the name of the United 
     States brought in the United States district court for the 
     district where the violation is alleged to have occurred or 
     where the employer has its principal office.
       (2) Considerations.--In assessing a civil penalty under 
     this Act, the Secretary shall give due consideration to the 
     appropriateness of the penalty with respect to the size of 
     the business of the employer being charged, the gravity of 
     the violation, the good faith of the employer, and the 
     history of previous violations.
       (g) Definitions.--As used in this Act:
       (1) The term ``employee'' has the meaning given such term 
     in section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 
     U.S.C. 203).
       (2) The term ``employer'' means any person engaged in 
     commerce or in any industry or

[[Page S1278]]

     activity affecting commerce who employs 25 or more employees 
     during a calendar year, and includes any person who acts, 
     directly or indirectly, in the interest of an employer to any 
     of the employees of such employer and any successor in 
     interest of an employer. In the previous sentence, the terms 
     ``commerce'' and ``industry or activity affecting commerce'' 
     have the meaning given such terms in section 101(1) of the 
     Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611(1)).
       (h) State and Local Laws.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
     construed to supersede any provision of any State or local 
     law that requires an employer to provide leave to an 
     employee, for the purpose of voting in any Federal, State, or 
     municipal election, in an amount greater than that required 
     under this Act, or under terms more beneficial to an employee 
     than those provided under this Act.
       (i) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect 
     beginning with the first Federal election held after the date 
     of enactment of this Act.
                                 ______