In addition to choosing between the two most unpopular candidates for president in recent memory on Tuesday, voters in a number of states will weigh in on a variety of ballot initiatives, from marijuana legalization to single-payer health care.

A number of the referenda could have significant impacts on employers, insurers and benefits professionals.

Perhaps the most dramatic change could come in Colorado, where a referendum proposes establishing a state-run single-payer health care system. Critics, including the Democratic governor, have decried the proposal as far too expensive and polls have suggested it has little chance of passage.

However, there are other liberal efforts that have a much better shot at success.

In Arizona and Washington state, referendums on the ballot offer voters the chance to require employers to provide workers with paid sick leave.

The Arizona ballot initiative would require employers with more than 15 employees to provide 40 hours of accrued sick leave per year. For organizations with fewer than 15 workers, the minimum sick leave would be 24 hours.

If a similar referendum is approved in Washington, employers will have to give employees one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours of labor.

Polls indicate that the measure will likely pass in Arizona, a traditionally Republican state that is being fiercely contested by Hillary Clinton and other Democratic forces, who see opportunities in the increasing turnout among the state’s large Latino population.

In Washington, which has become a reliably Democratic state, it’s also a good bet that the sick leave referendum will pass.

In both states, the sick leave measure is couple with a minimum wage boost. If approved, Arizona’s lowest-paid workers would see their wages rise from $8.05 an hour to $12 by 2020.

In Washington, the minimum wage will increase from $9.47 to $13.50. In Seattle, the state’s largest city, an ordinance that took effect last year already hiked the minimum wage substantially for workers in that city. Whether or not the statewide referendum passes, beginning on Jan. 1, the minimum wage for companies in Seattle with more than 500 employees will be $15 an hour, while it will be $11 an hour for smaller companies.

Instant Insights /

Election Day referenda have big implications for employers

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