Is Presidents Day a federal holiday? Do we get off of work? (2024)

FAQs

Is Presidents Day a federal holiday? Do we get off of work? ›

This year, Presidents Day falls on Feb. 19, 2024. It is a holiday for most federal workers, and all banks, K-12 schools and non-essential government offices are closed on the holiday.

While this is a federal holiday, only federal employees in the Washington, DC area are entitled to a day off. Only Washington, DC observes this day besides the federal government.

How is the holiday celebrated? Because Presidents Day is a federal holiday, most federal workers will have the day off.

National holidays and public holidays have a similar definition: they are days established by law for the entire country as non-working days. Federal holidays, as explained above, are holidays that the federal government officially recognizes by closing its offices and giving employees the day off.

President's Day might be a federal holiday, but that doesn't mean private businesses are closed. Some are. Some are operating normally.

Most companies give employees at least six paid holidays a year. The most common are Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.

Given that Washington's Birthday is a federal holiday, federal employees get the day off, of course. Many other government and state employees do, too. The courts are closed, as are Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange.

Like all other federal holidays, the USPS will be closed on Presidents Day. That means branches won't be open and the mail won't run on Monday, Feb. 19.

Is Presidents Day a federal holiday? ›

The birthday of U.S. President George Washington (February 22) was first celebrated as a federal holiday in the United States in the 1880s. In 1968 the holiday was adapted to also honour the birth of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and moved to the third Monday in February.

Do you have to give employees federal holidays off? No. Only the federal government is required to provide federal holidays as paid time off to employees.

Most banks close on federal holidays

While there's no legal mandate for banks to shut down on Federal Reserve holidays, they often do. If, for example, the holiday falls on a Saturday, the Federal Reserve Bank and its branches keep their doors open on the prior Friday, though the Board of Governors takes the day off.

It is up to your employer to select which days, if any, it chooses to be open and closed for business, and if your employer is open on a holiday and schedules you to work that day, there is nothing in the law that obligates your employer to pay you anything but your regular pay and any overtime premium for all overtime ...

On a holiday, full-time employees under a standard work schedule are generally excused from 8 hours of non-overtime work, which are considered part of the 40-hour basic workweek.

Federal holidays are set by the United States government and apply to all federal employees. Non-federal holidays, like Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Halloween, are not set by the government and do not have to be observed by federal employees.

There are 11 federal bank holidays each year, including Presidents Day. To help you plan ahead, here's a list of the remaining 2024 to note on your calendar.

Congress has never declared the day a national holiday. Each state decides its own legal holidays. According to The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Florida hasn't added Presidents Day to the list of the state's legal holidays.

State holidays: Many employers in Texas offer their employees paid time off for certain holidays, such as New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.