Chapter breastle: ELECTION DAY ACTIVITIES Section: 204C.04
Subdivision 1. Right to be absent. Every employee who is eligible to vote in an election has the right to be absent from work for the purpose of voting during the morning of the day of that election, without penalty or deduction from salary or wages because of the absence.
How much more explicit does it have to be?
The law doesn't say that the employee has to prove he can't vote any other time, in order to exercise their right to vote on the morning of election day.
If anyone else has a different interpretation I welcome hearing it.
Personally, I would find it hard to stick my employer with loss of my time based on the law, when it's pretty easy for me to arrange things so I can vote on my own time. But there are certainly people for whom voting outside work hours might be a huge inconvenience1, and by the letter of the law it would appear they have the right to take time off to vote and get paid for it.
1 Perfect candidates for absentee voting via mail or early voting.