Missouri: Voting Leave Requirements

Three successive off-duty hours defeat the leave claim

Missouri grants a three-hour election-day absence only when the employee lacks
three successive hours outside the employer's service while the polls are
open. The statute uses a continuous-block test, not the total number of
off-duty polling hours scattered around a shift.

For example, if polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and the employee's shift
ends at 5 p.m., the two hours after work are not enough; the employee may
request the statutory leave. If the shift ends at 4 p.m., the employee already
has three successive polling hours and § 115.639 does not require leave.

The employer selects the three-hour period

The employee receives a three-hour period between poll opening and closing,
but the employer may specify which three hours. The statute does not give the
employee a right to insist on the beginning or end of the shift.

The employee must request the absence before election day. Section 115.639
does not set a particular hour, a longer advance-notice period, or a required
written form.

Pay and discipline protection depend on voting

The statute says an employee “if he votes” may not be penalized or disciplined
and may not have salary or wages deducted because of the absence. It also says
the voting absence may not be a reason for discharge or threatened discharge.

An employer that violates § 115.639 commits a class four election offense.
Section 115.637 classifies that offense as a misdemeanor and authorizes up to
one year of imprisonment, a fine up to $2,500, or both.

What trips people up

The employee does not automatically receive three hours merely because the
employee works on election day. A qualifying employee must lack a three-hour
successive off-duty block while polls are open and must request leave before
the day of the election.

The statute also ties its no-deduction and no-discipline protections to the
employee actually voting. It does not state a receipt or certificate procedure,
but its text expressly uses “if he votes.”

Common questions

Can the employer decide when the employee leaves?

Yes. The employer may specify any three hours while the polls are open.

Does the employee have to make a written request?

Section 115.639 requires a request before election day but does not require a
particular form.

What if the employee takes the leave but does not vote?

The statute expressly conditions its protection against discipline, another
penalty, and a wage deduction on the employee voting.

Statutes and sources

• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 115.639: eligibility, three-hour leave, outside-work-hours
  exception, pay and discipline protection, request timing, employer control,
  and offense classification — official text
  (accessed July 13, 2026).
• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 115.637: class four election-offense punishment — official
  text (accessed
  July 13, 2026).