Federal holiday

In the United States, a federal holiday is a holiday recognized by the United States Government. Non-essential federal government offices are closed. All federal employees are paid for the holiday; those who are required to work on the holiday sometimes receive wages for that day in addition to holiday pay. Private banks, stock and futures exchanges are generally closed on these days as well.

List of Holidays

Federal holidays are designated by the United States Congress in Title V of the United States Code (usc|5|6103). [http://www.washingtonwatchdog.org/documents/usc/ttl5/ptIII/subptE/ch61/subchI/sec6103.html]

Constitutionally, there are no "national holidays" in the United States because Congress only has authority to create holidays for federal institutions (including federally owned properties) and employees, and for the District of Columbia. Instead, there are federal holidays, state holidays, city holidays, and so on.

Currently, there are eleven U.S. Federal holidays, most (but not all) of which are also state holidays.

* [http://www.opm.gov/fedhol/ Federal Holidays Calendars] from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

The official names came from the laws that defines holidays for federal employees. The "Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr." holiday is commonly called "Martin Luther King Day", and the "Washington's Birthday" holiday is commonly called "Presidents' Day". Independence Day is often called "The 4th of July".

New Year's Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day and Christmas Day are observed on the same calendar date each year, unless one falls on a weekend. Holidays that fall on a Saturday are observed on the previous Friday, and those that fall on a Sunday are observed the following Monday. The other holidays always fall on a particular day of the week.

Federal law cannot compel state, municipal or other local governments to observe or recognize federal holidays in any way (U.S. Const., Amend. X effectively reserves holiday creation policy to the governments of the several states). Most states "do" recognize all federal holidays, however, though some are slower than others to adopt them. Arizona and New Hampshire notably refused to establish Martin Luther King, Jr's. birthday as a legal holiday until long after the federal and 48 other state governments had already done so. California does not recognize Columbus Day, but celebrates the date of admission to statehood, Admission Day.

Neither are private employers required to observe federal or state holidays, although many businesses will close at least for New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Many businesses, other than retail establishments, also close on Thanksgiving Friday, that is, the day after Thanksgiving. Private employers may be required by law or union contract to pay a differential such as time-and-a-half or double-time to employees who work on a Federal holiday.

Public 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." However, there is no requirement that business or government close on these days, and many members of the general public may not be aware that such holidays even exist. Holidays proclaimed in this way may be considered "national" holidays, but are not "federal" holidays.

For example, by Executive Order, President George W. Bush declared January 2, 2007 a "National Day of Mourning" in honor of former President Gerald Ford and ordered all executive departments, independent establishments, and other governmental agencies closed. This did not apply to governmental agencies that should remain open for reasons of national security or defense or other essential public business.

Controversy

Some people have objected to honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. and/or Christopher Columbus with holidays. As a result, Martin Luther King Day took several years to gain national acceptance and is called "Civil Rights Day" in some locations. Some local jurisdictions observe "Indigenous Peoples of the Americas Day" instead of "Columbus Day". Similarly, some public schools in the US re-name the vacation taken near and after Christmas "Winter Holiday" or "Winter Break", to avoid the implication that all students are obligated to observe Christian or nominally Christian holidays. State and local legal names for any particular holiday do "not" have any bearing upon the names of federal holidays.

See also

* Public holidays of the United States
* List of observances in the United States by presidential proclamation

External links

* [http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/Federal_Holidays.pdf Federal Holidays: Evolution and Application] , CRS Report for Congress, 98-301 GOV, updated February 8, 1999, by Stephen W. Stathis
* [http://www.canb.uscourts.gov/canb/geninfo.nsf/0/70f9a6b6c62ac33688256958006112ee?OpenDocument Northern District of California Court Information]
* [http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode05/usc_sec_05_00006103----000-.html United States Code: Federal Holidays]
* [http://www.buyusa.gov/uk/en/us_bank_holidays.html Department of Commerce Federal Holiday Calendar]