There are 11 federal holidays set by law. They give federal employees a day off, but private employers are not required to close, give the day off or pay extra for work on them.
| Holiday | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Friday, January 1 | |
| Martin Luther King, Jr. Day | Monday, January 18 | |
| Washington’s Birthday | Monday, February 15 | |
| Memorial Day | Monday, May 31 | |
| Juneteenth | Saturday, June 19 | Federal observance Friday, June 18 |
| Independence Day | Sunday, July 4 | Federal observance Monday, July 5 |
| Labor Day | Monday, September 6 | |
| Columbus Day | Monday, October 11 | |
| Veterans Day | Thursday, November 11 | |
| Thanksgiving Day | Thursday, November 25 | |
| Christmas Day | Saturday, December 25 | Federal observance Friday, December 24 |
New Year’s Day 2028 falls on a Saturday, so federal offices observe it on Friday, December 31, 2027. Check pay dates against these days; see pay date.
With EZTime time-off requests, employees ask for PTO from their phone and managers approve it in one place.
A retail chain gives six paid holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Stores stay open on most of them, and employees who work get time and a half for hours worked on the holiday.
For 2027, Independence Day falls on a Sunday and Christmas on a Saturday. The chain’s policy says the paid holiday is the actual date for store staff, because stores are open that day, and the federal observance day for office staff, who do not work weekends. Both rules are written into the policy so nobody has to guess.
Payroll also notes that because the holiday premium is at least time and a half for work on the holiday, it can be credited toward overtime owed that week. For the pay date that falls on Friday, December 24, payroll checks its bank’s holiday schedule and sends the payment file a day earlier than usual, so pay arrives on time.
For businesses that stay open, federal holidays are a staffing question as much as a pay question. Decide early who works each holiday, rotate the duty so the same people do not work every one, and collect time off requests for the days around holidays before the schedule is built.
Check the payroll calendar too. When a pay date or a payroll submission deadline falls on or just before a federal holiday, banks may be closed, so move the deadline earlier. Columbus Day and Veterans Day are easy to miss, because many businesses stay open while banks close.
A staffing agency pays weekly on Wednesdays and sends its payroll file on Monday. In 2027, Columbus Day falls on Monday, October 11, and banks are closed.
The agency moves that week’s timesheet approval to Friday, October 8, and sends the file the same day, so pay arrives on Wednesday as usual. It does the same for Veterans Day, which falls on Thursday, November 11, 2027, by checking which of its deadlines fall on that day.
Eleven, including Juneteenth National Independence Day, which was added in 2021.
No. Federal holidays are not mandatory days off for private employers. Holiday time off and pay are set by company policy, agreements and, in some places, state law.
Federal law does not require it. Many employers choose to pay a premium, such as time and a half.
For federal employees, a Saturday holiday is observed on the Friday before and a Sunday holiday on the following Monday. Private employers set their own rule.
No. Many employers give it as a paid day off, but it is not one of the 11 federal holidays.
Only if the employer’s policy, an agreement or a state law makes it one. Federal holidays are not mandatory paid days off for private employers.
Time off requests, approvals and the schedule sit side by side, so coverage gaps show up before the week starts.