Law firm encourages employees to vote

The ScottHulse Law Firm is encouraging its nearly 50 employees to get to the polls with a “group walk.”

“It gives both our attorneys and staff time to go together and go vote for the presidential and local elections. It’s a good opportunity for us, as an employer, to be able to show our staff that we encourage them to get out to the polls and vote no matter what their political affiliation may be,” Attorney Blake Downey said. “It just gives all of us an opportunity to really exercise our right and our duty to go vote for leaders in both in our country and in our city.”

Former County Commissioner Stuart Schwartz spearheaded the movement, which has been around for 20 years. The law firm’s employees met Monday and walked a few blocks to the county courthouse to vote together.

Downey adds they encourage employees to vote for any one candidate or topic. He says they embrace different ideas and viewpoints in the office.

Under Texas law, employers are required to give employees time off to vote on election day, unless an employee has two consecutive hours to vote outside of their schedule. Downey says they granted employees paid time off to vote during early voting, something Downey says they encourage other businesses to do too.

“We really just want to be a beacon for our community and community business leaders, to be able to understand that this is something is important as a civic duty and they should actively engage their workforce and go to the polls as well,” Downey said.