This Friday, June 18, federal employees will have a new paid federal holiday for the first time: Juneteenth.
The holiday arrives after President Biden signed a bill into law today establishing June 19 as a new federal holiday.
It was unclear until today if the legislation would be passed into law in time to give federal employees the holiday this year, and even if it was, how the Office of Personnel Management would address the matter.
We know now though that federal employees will indeed get a paid day off tomorrow. OPM confirmed this in a tweet this morning:
Today @POTUS will sign the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, establishing June 19th as a federal holiday. As the 19th falls on a Saturday, most federal employees will observe the holiday tomorrow, June 18th.
Despite the new holiday, the Postal Service will deliver mail on both Friday and Saturday.
11 Paid Holidays for Federal Employees
With the addition of the Juneteenth holiday, federal employees will now have 11 standard paid holidays in a year. This is the current list of federal holidays for the federal workforce according to OPM:
- New Year’s Day
- Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Washington’s Birthday
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Columbus Day
- Veterans Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
This list does not include exceptions such as Inauguration Day every four years for federal employees in the Washington, DC area or unexpected holidays such as an extra day off for Christmas Eve.
