Federal Holidays
What are federal holidays and do private employers have to give them off?
Federal holidays are the 11 days each year on which federal government offices close and federal employees receive paid leave, set by the Office of Personnel Management under 5 U.S.C. 6103. Private-sector employers are not required to observe federal holidays, to close, or to provide premium pay to employees who work on them, unless a contract, state law, or company policy says otherwise. Most U.S. employers do give at least six to eight paid holidays per year by policy.
Federal holidays often get treated as universal, and they're not. The 11 dates set by federal law govern federal employees and federal government offices. Private employers set their own holiday schedules, subject to state laws that occasionally weigh in. Roughly 97 percent of civilian workers in private industry receive paid holidays, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but the specific days vary widely. For HR teams, designing a holiday schedule is less about federal law and more about aligning with customer expectations, payroll cost, and the mix of religious and cultural observances employees want recognized.
The 11 Federal Holidays
The current list: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Washington's Birthday (Presidents' Day), Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day (also observed as Indigenous Peoples' Day in many places), Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, making it the newest addition to the list in nearly 40 years.
What Private Employers Owe
Nothing, under federal law. The FLSA does not require private employers to provide time off or premium pay on federal holidays. State law occasionally adds requirements, mostly in the retail sector in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, where "blue laws" still restrict Sunday and holiday operations or require premium pay.
Do You Have to Pay Employees Who Work on a Federal Holiday?
Only at the regular rate, unless company policy, an employment agreement, or a union contract requires holiday premium pay. Many employers voluntarily pay 1.5x or 2x for work on major holidays to secure coverage.
How Most Companies Set Their Holiday Schedule
Six to eight days is typical, concentrated around New Year's, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and the December holiday window. Larger or more mature organizations often add two to four more: MLK Day, Juneteenth, Veterans Day, and the day after Thanksgiving.
Floating holidays are increasingly common, giving employees flexibility for religious or cultural observances the employer doesn't formally recognize. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the average paid holiday allowance in private industry is around 8 days per year.
Building a Federal Holidays Policy That Actually Serves Your Workforce
Pick the dates deliberately. Aligning with federal holidays makes coordination with government and financial services easier. Adding days tied to your company's culture, industry, or workforce demographics signals what the organization actually values.
Document the policy clearly in the employee handbook, including whether holiday hours count toward overtime calculations (they generally don't, unless actually worked), how holiday pay interacts with paid time off, and what happens when a holiday falls on a weekend. Reference the OPM federal holidays list and the BLS National Compensation Survey for comparative benchmarks.
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