Holiday Labor Laws
The federal government and the states all have laws about which days their employees are to take off as a holiday. All governments have some holidays in common, but they differ on others. Some holidays that fall on weekends are observed with an adjacent weekday off.
Other People Are Reading
-
Federal Government
-
The federal government lists 10 legal holidays to be observed by its departments and agencies. These are New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Federal law provides that if a holiday falls on a weekend, then the following Monday (if the holiday is on Sunday) or the preceding Friday (if the holiday is on Saturday) usually will be considered a holiday for federal employees. This year's inauguration of Barack Obama as president was made a legal holiday, but those federal workers who had to work on Inauguration Day were not entitled to a replacement holiday.
New York
-
New York observes 12 legal holidays. They are New Years Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Lincoln's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Election Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, Columbus Day and Washington's Birthday. However, when Columbus Day or Washington's Birthday falls on a weekend, employees do not get an alternative day off.
-
California
-
The government of California observes 14 legal holidays. These include all of the legal holidays observed by New York, plus Cesar Chavez Day and the day after Thanksgiving.
Florida
-
The state of Florida observes nine legal holidays. They are Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving and the day after Thanksgiving. Unlike California and New York, they do not observe Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays.
Texas
-
In Texas the holiday system is very different from those of Florida, California or New York. In addition to its normal legal holidays, Texas has "partial staffing" holidays and "optional" holidays. "Partial staffing" holidays are days on which the offices are open but some staff members are given the day off. "Optional" holidays are those where the offices must stay open but have the option of giving employees the day off. The normal legal holidays are New Years Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents Day (a.k.a. Washington's Birthday), Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and the days before and after Christmas Day. The "partial staffing" holidays are Confederate Heroes Day, Texas Independence Day, San Jacinto Day, Emancipation Day in Texas, and Lyndon Baines Johnson Day. The "optional" holidays are Cesar Chavez Day, Good Friday, and Rosh Hashanah.
-
