Can My Employer Make Me Work On A Holiday?

The short answer is yes, unless you are a state or federal employee, or have an employment contract or other agreement that entitles you to certain holidays. This article addresses secular holidays and general holiday pay rules; different accommodation rules may apply to religious holidays.

Are Government Employees Entitled to Paid Holidays?

Generally, employees who work for the United States government or the New Jersey State government are entitled to paid holidays. You can find a list of the paid federal holidays published by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management on their website holiday page, and a list of the New Jersey State holidays on nj.gov. Both federal and New Jersey state governments provide for additional premium pay in the cases when a government worker must work on a holiday.

Do Private Employers Have to Give Employees Holidays Off?

An employee who works for a private employer is not entitled to holidays by law. This includes major holidays such as Labor Day, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. The exception to this rule is if there is an employment agreement or collective bargaining agreement that provides for holiday leave. Even if holidays are provided for in an employee handbook, except in certain circumstances, a private employer can still require an employee to work on a holiday if necessary.

Does My Private Employer Have to Pay Me for a Holiday I Do Not Work?

Many employees are provided with holidays as part of the benefits provided to them by private employers. Private employers may offer paid or unpaid holiday time.

• Employees who are not exempt from the Fair Labor Standard Act’s rules (“non-exempt employees”), usually hourly workers, are not entitled to be paid on days that they do not work. If these employees are notified that the day is a holiday before they report to work on that day, no pay is required.
• Non-exempt employees may be paid by employers as a benefit.
• Employees who are exempt from the Fair Labor Standard Act’s rules (usually salaried employees) and are provided with holidays must be paid their regular salary without interruption for business closures that extend less than one full work week, so they must be paid for the holiday if they work any time during the holiday week.
• An employer that offers paid holidays to full-time employees is permitted not to offer part-time and temporary workers paid holiday time.
• An employer may choose to offer paid holidays only to employees who have worked for the business for a certain length of time or meet some other criteria.

All employees are entitled to time off to celebrate their religious holidays as accommodation under law, although employers may not be required to pay for such time off, depending on the circumstances.