labor lawAdivision of labor law center

While Alabama workers are given several holidays off, employers are not required by law to pay holiday pay if the employer chooses to close on a holiday. Holiday pay is solely at the discretion of the employer, though many employers compensate their workers for some of the major holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving.

If the employee works on a day deemed a holiday, the employer is only required to pay the employee a regular wage, and an extra amount is not required in consideration of the holiday such as holiday pay or time-and-a-half such as in some other states. There are also considerations made for the day on which the holiday falls so that employees will still have the day off if the holiday falls on a weekend. For instance, if the holiday falls on a Sunday, the employee will get the following Monday off. Likewise, the previous Friday in lieu of the Saturday holiday day will be considered the day off observed as the holiday.

Alabama counts several days as holidays for the purpose of wages including New Year’s Day, the Fourth of July, Confederate Memorial Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day and Fraternal Day, Veterans’ Day, American Indian Heritage Day, and the day designated by the Governor for public thanksgiving, as well as several American presidents’ and notable citizens’ birthdays such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert E. Lee, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Jefferson Davis. In addition, Mobile and Baldwin Counties celebrate Mardi gras as a holiday and all state offices are closed in observance.

The State of Alabama Department of Labor, established in 1943, publishes several reports on subjects such as job related illness and injuries through its federal surveys, promotes the peaceful settlement of labor disputes and provides mediation services. The State of Alabama Department of Labor of works closely with federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Labor.

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1. Posted by: Becky Gillespie

   Per our employee manual we are to be paid for Thanksgiving day. The company chose to close the business Friday the day after Thanksgiving which is a regular scheduled workday. If the company chooses to close the business the day before a paid holiday or the day after a paid holiday do they have to pay the employees?
   The company closed Wednesday, Thanksgiving day, and Friday and Thanksgiving day is a paid holiday per our employee manual. Do they have to pay the employees for Wednesday and Friday? Can the company make the employees take the time from their vacation in order to receive pay for Wednesday and or Friday.

2. Posted by: Amelia

   Hi Becky! Many employees are in this situation this year. There are different rules for hourly and salaried employees. Yes, the employer can shut down for a few days and pay hourly workers only for the time they actually worked. They need not be paid for the days the business was closed.

   Under federal regulations, salaried exempt employees must be paid unless the closure is for an entire payroll week. (Cara posted an excellent article on this on Nov. 7.)

   Employers can legally dictate when employees use vacation, so both hourly and salaried employees can be required to use their vacation during these closures. For more info, post your questions on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia