Legal Holidays for Private-Sector Employees

Did you know that there are no such things as Federally-mandated “legal holidays” for private-sector employees, whether paid or not?

It’s true! Because the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the “main” Federal law that regulates work hours and pay, does not require private-sector employers to grant any holiday time off to their employees. The FLSA also does not require public-sector employers to grant holiday time off to their employees.

However, legal holidays for Federal government employees are designated by a different law that is specifically for such employees. (More on that later.)

Most private-sector employers voluntarily grant time off to some or all of their employees on so-called “legal holidays.” They do so to attract and retain employees in competition with other employers, just as they voluntarily grant other benefits that are not required by law. (Yes, holiday time off could be considered a benefit of the job. It is not a requirement.)

Under the FLSA, employers also don’t have to pay their employees more than the standard rate for overtime work on legal holidays. More than the standard rate, such as double-time pay, is strictly a matter of agreement between employers and employees or employers and labor unions. Basically, FLSA treats any and all “legal holidays” exactly the same as “regular” workdays regarding hours and pay.

By the way, if an employer has a policy of granting time off for legal holidays, it’s a good idea to apply that policy equally to all employees of the same classification. Otherwise, the employer might face a discrimination lawsuit. (Contact the EEOC or a lawyer about that.)

States and municipalities may enact FLSA equivalents that provide more generous provisions than the Federal version ( check with the relevant state labor department or municipal equivalent, such as the city council, about that), but the probability is low that a particular state or municipality requires private-sector employers to grant employee time off for all legal holidays.

Legal Holidays for Government Employees

Legal holidays are established annually by Federal, state and local government offices for public-sector employees, according to laws or related regulations. For example, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) establishes the following legal paid holidays for Federal government employees each calendar year, as designated in Title 5 of the United States Code (USC) (Federal laws).

• New Year’s Day
• Martin Luther King’s Birthday
• Washington’s Birthday (Presidents’ Day)
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day (“Fourth of July”)
• Labor Day
• Columbus Day
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day