White Castle closing on morning of Election Day to encourage employees to vote

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This fast-food chain is prioritizing its employees' right to vote over profits. 

White Castle announced Tuesday it will close all of its restaurants on Nov. 3 between the hours of 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. to give its workers time to vote in the presidential election, a move few fast-food restaurant chains have made. 

White Castle will partially close all of its restaurants on Election Day to give workers paid time off to vote.  (iStock)

Any team member scheduled to work at the burger chain during the morning hours will be paid for the four-hour break, the chain said. 

TIME TO VOTE: GROWING NUMBER OF BUSINESSES, RETAILERS PLAN TO GIVE EMPLOYEES TIME OFF TO VOTE ON ELECTION DAY

"We have decided to start a new tradition. Starting this year and going forward, White Castle will give team members time to exercise their right to vote in presidential elections,” Lisa Ingram, president and CEO of White Castle, said. 

“We believe voting is a right of responsible citizenship, and we want all our team members to have that opportunity."

A slew of companies made arrangements to allow employees time off to vote; however, not many chains have pledged to close entirely on Election Day.

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Upwards of 1,000 retailers such as Best Buy, Walmart, Paypal, Lyft and others joined the “Time to Vote” campaign, a nonpartisan movement led by business leaders voicing to give workers enough time off to vote. But fewer have vowed to shut down completely. 

Notable exceptions include the clothing store Patagonia, which pledged to shut down its retail operations, offices and distribution facilities entirely on Nov. 3, urging others to do the same. And on the food front, ice cream favorite Ben & Jerry’s announced it would close all of its factories to encourage its employees to get out to the polls.