stringtranslate.com

Federal holidays in the United States

Federal holidays in the United States are 11 calendar dates designated by the U.S. federal government as holidays. On these days non-essential U.S. federal government offices are closed and federal employees are paid for the day off.[1]

Federal holidays are designated by the United States Congress in Title V of the United States Code (5 U.S.C. § 6103).[2] Congress only has authority to create holidays for federal institutions (including federally-owned properties), employees, and the District of Columbia. As a general rule of courtesy, custom, and sometimes regulation, other institutions, such as banks, businesses, schools, and the financial markets, may be closed on federal holidays. In various parts of the country, state and city holidays may be observed concurrently with federal holidays.

History

The history of national holidays in the United States dates back to June 28, 1870, when Congress created national holidays "to correspond with similar laws of States around the District...and...in every State of the Union."[3] Although at first applicable only to federal employees in the District of Columbia, Congress extended coverage in 1885 to all federal employees.

The original four holidays in 1870 were:

George Washington's Birthday became a federal holiday in 1879. In 1888 and 1894, respectively, Decoration Day (now Memorial Day) and Labor Day were created. Armistice Day was established in 1938 to honor the end of World War I, and the scope of the holiday was expanded to honor Americans who fought in World War II and the Korean War when it was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.

In 1968, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act gave several holidays "floating" dates so that they always fall on a Monday, and also established Columbus Day.

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the bill that created Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It was first observed three years later, although some states resisted making it a state holiday. It was finally celebrated both nationally and by each of the states in 2000.[4] Dr. King's birthday is January 15th.

On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the law that made June 19th a federal holiday. Also called "Juneteenth National Independence Day," Juneteenth commemorates the June 19, 1865 belated announcement in Texas that enslaved people in the Confederate states that were in rebellion (1861-65) had been freed by President Abraham Lincoln as of January 1, 1863.[5][6][7][8] President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 which declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." A National Park Service fact sheet explains that "the word “Juneteenth” is a Black English contraction, or portmanteau, of the month “June” and the date “Nineteenth.” Juneteenth celebrates the date of June 19, 1865, when enslaved people of African descent located in Galveston, Texas, finally learned of their freedom from the slavery system in the United States."[9] President Biden's annual proclamation in 2024 began, "On June 19, 1865, freedom finally came for the 250,000 enslaved people of Texas. That day, which would become known as Juneteenth, the Army arrived to enforce what had already been the law of the land for two and a half years — the Emancipation Proclamation."[10]

On October 3, 1789, at the request of the U.S. Congress, President George Washington issued a Thanksgiving proclamation designating November 26, 1789 as a day of "public thanksgiving and prayer" for the "People of the United States.”[11][12] Thanksgiving has been proclaimed in the U.S. for various months and days of the week, including March, August, September, November, December, and on Sundays.[13][14]

Celebrated on December 25th around the world, Christmas (the birthday or nativity of Christ) is the day that Christians remember the birthday and incarnation (God's Word becoming human) of Jesus Christ (God, Savior, Messiah). Christmas has been celebrated for over 2,000 years. In the United States, Christmas Day as a federal or public holiday is sometimes objected to by various anti-Christians,[15][16][17] usually due to its ties with Christianity. In December 1999, the Western Division of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, in the case Ganulin v. United States, denied the charge that Christmas Day's federal status violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution, ruling that "the Christmas holiday has become largely secularized", and that "by giving federal employees a paid vacation day on Christmas, the government is doing no more than recognizing the cultural significance of the holiday".[18][19]

List of federal holidays

Most of the 11[20] U.S. federal holidays are also state holidays. Five of the "floating" date holidays always fall on a Monday, the remaining floating holiday, Thanksgiving, is always on a Thursday. The rest are on fixed dates. A fixed date holiday that falls on a weekend (Saturday and Sunday) is usually observed for federal employees on the closest weekday: a holiday falling on a Saturday is observed on the preceding Friday, while a holiday falling on a Sunday is observed on the succeeding Monday.[21] The official names come from the statute that defines holidays for federal employees.

Inauguration Day, held on January 20 every four years following a quadrennial presidential election, is considered a paid holiday for federal employees in the Washington, D.C., area by the Office of Personnel Management. It is not considered a federal holiday in the United States equivalent to the eleven holidays mentioned above.[33]

Although many states recognize most or all federal holidays as state holidays, the federal government cannot enact laws to compel them to do so. States can recognize other days as state holidays that are not federal holidays. For example, the State of Texas recognizes all federal holidays except Columbus Day, and recognizes the Friday after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and the day after Christmas as state holidays.[34]

Texas does not follow the federal rule of closing either the Friday before, if a holiday falls on a Saturday, or the Monday after if a holiday falls on a Sunday. Offices are open on those Fridays or Mondays. Texas has "partial staffing holidays", such as March 2, which is Texas Independence Day, and "optional holidays", such as Good Friday.[34]

Private employers are not required to observe federal or state holidays, the key exception being federally-chartered banks. Some private employers, often by a union contract, pay a differential such as time-and-a-half or double-time to employees who work on some federal holidays. Employees not specifically covered by a union contract, might only receive their standard pay for working on a federal holiday, depending on the company policy.

Legal holidays due to presidential proclamation

Federal law also provides for the declaration of other public holidays by the President of the United States. Generally the president will provide a reasoning behind the elevation of the day, and call on the people of the United States to observe the day "with appropriate ceremonies and activities."

Examples of presidentially declared holidays were the days of the funerals for former Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Gerald Ford; federal government offices were closed and employees given a paid holiday.

In addition, occasionally the President will grant Christmas Eve as a holiday or partial holiday (the latter generally being 4 hours for full-time employees).

Proposed federal holidays

Many federal holidays have been proposed. As the U.S. federal government is a large employer, the holidays are expensive. If a holiday is controversial, opposition will generally prevent bills enacting them from passing. For example, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, marking King's birthday, took much effort to pass[35] and for all states to recognize it. It was not until 2000 that this holiday was officially observed in all 50 states.[36]

The following list is an example of holidays that have been proposed and reasons why they are not observed at the federal level. Some of these holidays are observed at the state level.

Controversy

Some Native American groups protest the observance of Columbus Day, mainly due to the controversy of Columbus' arrival to the Americas.[47][48]

Alaska, Colorado,[49] Florida, Hawaii, Iowa,[50] Louisiana,[51] Maine, Michigan,[52] Minnesota,[53] New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina,[54] Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont,[55] Washington, and Wisconsin do not recognize Columbus Day. Hawaii and South Dakota mark the day with an alternative holiday or observance. South Dakota is the only state to recognize Native American Day as an official state holiday.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Holidays". U.S. Department of Commerce. Archived from the original on September 13, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "5 U.S. Code § 6103 – Holidays". www.law.cornell.edu. Cornell University Law School - Legal Information Institute. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  3. ^ "Federal Holidays: Evolution and Current Practices" (PDF). www.fas.org. Congressional Research Service. May 9, 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
  4. ^ Church, George (October 31, 1983). "A National Holiday for King". Time. Time Inc. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  5. ^ Wagner, Meg; Mahtani, Melissa; Macaya, Melissa; Rocha, Veronica; Alfonso III, Fernando (June 17, 2021). "Live updates: Biden signs Juneteenth bill". CNN. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  6. ^ Whitehouse.gov: Bill Signed: S. 475
  7. ^ "A Proclamation on Juneteenth Day of Observance, 2021". The White House. June 18, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  8. ^ "Remarks by President Biden at Signing of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act". The White House. June 18, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  9. ^ "Juneteenth National Independence Day - NPS Commemorations and Celebrations (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  10. ^ House, The White (June 18, 2024). "A Proclamation on Juneteenth Day of Observance, 2024". The White House. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  11. ^ "Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789". George Washington's Mount Vernon. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  12. ^ "Thanksgiving". George Washington's Mount Vernon. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  13. ^ Thomas, Heather (November 24, 2021). "A Presidential History of Thanksgiving | Headlines & Heroes". The Library of Congress. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  14. ^ "Thanksgiving Day Proclamations 1789–Present". whatsoproudlywehail.org. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  15. ^ Robin, Marci (December 9, 2014). "Christmas Should Not Be a National Holiday". time.com. Time Inc. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  16. ^ Gaylor, Annie (April 19, 2013). "Let's Observe Dec. 25, but not as Christmas". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  17. ^ "Why Should the Federal Government Celebrate the Birth of a God". www.dailykos.com. Daily Kos. December 10, 2011. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  18. ^ Austin Cline (December 7, 1999). "Ganulin v. U.S.: Court Rules U.S. Government Can Recognize Christmas as Official Paid Holiday". skepticism.org. Austin Cline. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  19. ^ "GANULIN v. U.S." www.leagle.com. Leagle, Inc. December 6, 1999. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  20. ^ "Federal, state, and local holidays". hr.commerce.gov. US Department of Commerce. Archived from the original on January 26, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  21. ^ "Federal Holidays". www.opm.gov. U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  22. ^ Borgna Brunner (December 16, 2004). "New Year's Traditions". www.infoplease.com. infoplease. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  23. ^ Glass, Andrew (November 2, 2017). "Reagan establishes national holiday for MLK, Nov. 2, 1983". POLITICO. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  24. ^ "Public Law 90-363".
  25. ^ 52% Celebrate Labor Day As Unofficial End of Summer Archived February 13, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Rasmussen Reports (September 3, 2012).
  26. ^ [Over 40 Percent of Employers to Require Some to 'Labor' on Labor Day Holiday, According to Nationwide Bloomberg BNA Survey], Bloomberg BNA (August 27, 2015).
  27. ^ "An Act Making the First Day of January, the Twenty-Fifth Day of December, the Fourth Day of July, and Thanksgiving Day, Holidays, within the District of Columbia". Statutes at Large. Vol. XVI. Boston, MA: Little, Brown, and Company. 1871. p. 168. Archived from the original on June 2, 2024.
  28. ^ Straus, Jacob R. (May 9, 2014). Federal holidays: Evolution and current practices (PDF) (Report). Congressional Research Service.
  29. ^ Gray, Stanley (September 23, 2021). "Christmas in United States of America". westgateresorts.com. Westgate Resorts. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  30. ^ Davidson, Joe (December 5, 2014). "Obama makes Dec. 26 a holiday". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  31. ^ "Christmas Eve to be a holiday for federal workers in 2018 after President Donald Trump issues executive order". ABC7 News. December 19, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  32. ^ Mathis, Sommer (December 7, 2007). "Bush Gives Federal Employees Dec. 24 Off". DCist. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  33. ^ "Holidays Work Schedules and Pay". U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  34. ^ a b "Official Texas State Holidays". www.tsl.texas.gov. Texas State Library and Archives Commission. 2017. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  35. ^ Jason DeRusha (January 16, 2012). "Good Question: What Does It Take For A Federal Holiday?". minnesota.cbslocal.com. CBS Local Media. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  36. ^ Ross, Shmuel; Johnson, David (February 11, 2017). "The History of Martin Luther King Day". InfoPlease. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  37. ^ "H.R. 655 - Susan B. Anthony Birthday Act". www.gpo.gov. U.S. Government Publishing Office. February 11, 2011. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  38. ^ Smith, Ian (March 15, 2022). "Another Federal Holiday? Bill Would Create "Harriet Tubman Day"". FedSmith.com. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  39. ^ "Barack Obama calls for National Holiday for Cesar E. Chavez". www.cesarchavezholiday.org. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  40. ^ "H.J.Res.323 - Declaring May 19 a national holiday and day of prayer and remembrance honoring Malcolm X (Al Hajj Malik Al-Shabazz)". www.congress.gov. Library of Congress. February 10, 1994. Archived from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  41. ^ Duane Streufert. "National Flag Day". www.usflag.org. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  42. ^ Smith, Ralph R. (September 24, 2021). "Creating New Federal Holidays: 9/11 Holiday Latest Proposal". FedSmith.com. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  43. ^ "A History of National Native American Heritage Month: The Nation's Efforts to Honor American Indians and Alaska Natives". www.bia.gov. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  44. ^ Election day is designated by statute as "the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November""2 U.S. Code § 7 - Time of election". law.cornell.edu. Cornell Law School. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  45. ^ Martin P. Wattenberg (1998). "Should Election Day be a Holiday?". www.theatlantic.com. The Atlantic Monthly Company. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  46. ^ "Seeking Another Federal Holiday (and a Day Off for Federal Employees)".
  47. ^ Cristogianni Borsella (2005). On Persecution, Identity, and Activism. Dante University Press. ISBN 9780937832417. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  48. ^ Glenn T. Morris (April 10, 2007). "Abolish Columbus Day". www.denverpost.com. The Denver Post. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  49. ^ Townsend ·, Leif (October 3, 2020). "The first Monday Of October is Frances Xavier Cabrini Day. Here's why Colorado chose to replace Columbus Day". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  50. ^ Duffy, Molly. "Iowa marks first Indigenous Peoples Day". The Gazette. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  51. ^ "October 14 proclaimed to be Indigenous Peoples' Day in Louisiana". wafb.com. September 16, 2019. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  52. ^ https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/news/proclamations/2022/10/10/october-10-2022-indigenous-peoples-day. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  53. ^ "Indigenous Peoples Day Proclamation" (PDF). mn.gov. October 10, 2016.
  54. ^ "State Of North Carolina Indigenous Peoples' Day Proclamation" (PDF). Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  55. ^ Mettler, Katie (April 20, 2019). "Vermont passes bill abolishing Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous Peoples' Day". Washington Post. Retrieved December 15, 2023.

External links