Here Is a List of Federal Holidays for 2019 and Pay

Here Is a List of Federal Holidays for 2019 and Pay Here Is a List of Federal Holidays for 2019 and Pay The Federal Government provides employees with ten paid holidays each year. Private sector employers may provide these holidays off with pay, holidays off without pay, or holiday pay for working on a holiday, but they are not necessarily required to offer any of these options. It depends on the employers company policy regarding holidays. Review a list of federal holidays, dates each holiday will be observed in  2019, information on holiday time-off and compensation, extra holiday days off from work, and when you may have to work on a designated  holiday. List of Federal Holidays      New Years Day      Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday      Washingtons Birthday  (Presidents Day)      Memorial Day      Independence Day  (4th of July)      Labor Day      Columbus Day      Veterans Day      Thanksgiving Day      Christmas Day In addition, Inauguration Day is a paid federal holiday every four years. It is celebrated on  January 20th  or the 21st if the 20th is a  Sunday. Independence Day is typically called the “4th of July.” Washingtons Birthday is designated as such, even though the holiday is commonly known as Presidents Day. Dates of Federal Holidays for 2019 Tuesday, January 1 - New Year’s DayMonday, January 21 - Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.Monday, February 18 - Washington’s BirthdayMonday, May 27 - Memorial DayThursday, July 4 - Independence DayMonday, September 2 - Labor DayMonday, October 14 - Columbus DayMonday, November 11 - Veterans DayThursday, November 28 - Thanksgiving DayWednesday, December 25 -Christmas Day Observation Days on a Weekend Federal law establishes these public holidays for Federal employees. When a holiday falls on a weekend, the holiday usually is observed  on Monday  (if the holiday falls  on Sunday) or  Friday  (if the holiday falls  on Saturday). Private Sector Private companies are not required to close for holidays, or to pay  overtime  or holiday pay to their employees for working on a holiday. Even if they do close, they are not legally required to compensate workers with paid time off. However, companies may have policies that provide for holiday pay or paid time off.   In a 2014 survey, the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) ascertained that, of those companies that anticipated offering paid holidays in 2015, the majority intended to observe seven specific federal holidays: New Year’s Day (95%), Memorial Day (94%), the day before Independence Day (60%),  Independence Day (76%), Labor Day (95%), Thanksgiving (97%), and Christmas (97%). A smaller percentage of businesses also planned to offer paid time off for Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday (37%), Presidents Day (35%), Columbus Day (16%), and Veterans Day (20%). On average, private companies offered paid holidays for nine of these eleven federal holidays. How Will You Know What Holidays Youre Entitled To? If the company doesnt explain their holiday policy during an interview, it is important to ask when you get a  job offer. Become familiar with the companys policy on holidays so you know your holiday benefits before you accept the job and sign the employment contract, rather than after the fact. You dont want to be surprised when a holiday rolls around and youre asked to work. Extra Days Off The  2017 Paid Leave in the Workplace survey  from the International Foundation of Employee Benefits reports that some employers provide additional holiday days off including  Christmas Eve (45%) and New Year’s Eve (23%). Thirteen percent of employers surveyed close their offices and provided a week of paid holiday leave between Christmas and New Year’s. 48 percent of employers offered a floating holiday day to employees, typically one or two days a year. Employment Status Sometimes your work status determines whether you will be eligible for paid holidays by a private company. Full-time workers and/or workers with seniority are more likely to be allowed paid holidays than part-time employees are. Levels of seniority may also determine how many paid holidays your employer is willing to give you each year. Check with the Human Resources department for a list of paid (or unpaid) holidays at your company. Ideally, these should be clearly explained in an official employee handbook. The reason that holiday pay and time off isnt mandated is because the 1938  Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)  (also called the “Wage and Hour Bill”) does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations or holidays. Holiday benefits are generally an arrangement between an employer and an employee, as part of company policy, or as a negotiated agreement between the company and the employees representative, e.g., a union or other  collective bargaining unit. Will You Be Asked to Work? Some workers are more likely than others to be asked to work on a federal holiday, including shift workers, emergency personnel, and those in the healthcare, retail, and service industries. Although there are no legally mandated holidays, paid or otherwise, for these and other non-federal workers, employees who have to work because their industry doesnt stop for holidays often have resources at their disposal. For instance, many hospitals have policies that require medical staff to work either Christmas or Thanksgiving, but not both. Furthermore, some organizations will offer holiday pay (time and a half, a bonus, or some other incentive/reward), even though theyre not required to do so. Bottom line: to find out where you stand in terms of holidays, youll need to talk to Human Resources or your manager. Dont be shy: its perfectly reasonable to want to know when youll be expected to be at work so that you can  make your own plans or coverage requests.