California Holiday Pay Law

August 18th, 2006 Posted by Madison

California observes the official federal holidays which are New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day as well as days celebrating birthdays or notable people including Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Lincoln’s and Washington’s Birthdays, and Cesar Chavez Day.

As in many states, California employers are not required to pay their workers holiday pay when they close for business on official holidays. If an employee works on a holiday, they are paid their usual rate of pay unless it is the employer’s policy to pay extra rates such as time-and-a-half. California law does not require the employer to pay any additional pay if an employee works on the day of a holiday unless it is part of their common practice or if the employee has worked in excess of a 40 hour, 8 hour per day work week. Saturdays and Sunday are also paid at the same rate as hours worked during a weekday. In addition, California law does not require its employers to close for business on any holiday or to give their employees the day off for a particular holiday.

Holiday or weekend pay is given to workers at the discretion of the employers according to company policy, the practices adopted by the employer, or the terms agreed upon between the employer and the employee.

The Division of Labor Standards and Enforcement (DLSE) enforce Labor Code statutes, investigate public work complaints and discrimination, and enforces Labor Code statutes among its many duties. At the same time, The Division of Labor Statistics and Research (DLSR) and is dedicated to collecting, compiling and presenting accurate statistics and research regarding the current condition of labor in the state of California. Combined, these two agencies are dedicated to achieving the highest quality of service possible for the people of California.

Last 10 posts by Madison

« Arizona Holiday Pay Law
Alabama (AL) W-4 Form »
Posted in California, Employee Benefits, Paid Leave, Vacation

  1. Posted by: Jacob

    This is pure capitalism!!! We live in the world’s superpower (supposedly) yet we work endless hours of hard work, for an income that cannot support a single person… I despise this country and its fascist, imperial, capitalistic ways….

    This American culture is a metaphorically sadistic, and perverted version of Nero Cesar’s dream population of unaware sheep, if you will.

  2. Posted by: Wilkey

    An employee is out on disability. She is using vacation days, is holiday pay to be paid ?

  3. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Wilkey! That will depend upon company policy. For a more complete answer, post your question on our sister site, http://www.laborlawtalk.com. Thanks for reading our blog! Amelia

  4. Posted by: Mark

    I have worked at this company for five years and currently have 102.51 hours of vacation time. When I came back from the Labor Day holiday a memo had been placed in my inbox that stated that the company would not be paying company paid holidays as stated they would pay in our handbook and I have been refused taking vacation time that I have earned. This is not legal but where to I find the laws that govern such actions for California.

  5. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Mark! You’re right — this is probably not legal in California, although it would be in many other states. We have two great resources for you. First, you can post your questions on our sister site for employees, http://www.laborlawtalk.com. And, you can always wade through the official California Department of Industrial Relations site at http://www.dir.ca.gov/DLSE/ to find answers of your own, if you have the time. Thanks for a great question, and for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

  6. Posted by: Juli

    If I receive 8 hours of holiday pay for a Monday that I did not work, and then 32 hours of straight pay for working Tuesday - Friday, are any additional hours that I work on that Saturday supposed to be paid as overtime?

  7. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Juli! Unfortuantely, no. You are probably not entitled to overtime pay for Saturday. Both federal and California law require that employees receive overtime after working more than 40 hours in the week. You didn’t work on Monday, so the 8 hours of holiday pay are not included in time “worked” for overtime purposes. This means an employer could legitimately pay you for 48 hours of straight time at the regular rate, if 8 hours of that time was holiday pay. For a more complete explaination, please post your question on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. And, thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

  8. Posted by: Debbie

    If an employee request time off before & after a holiday do we still pay holiday pay? Example: employee may request July 1-15 off……Since they did not work the day before or after the holiday does the employer still have to pay for the holiday? Employer does pay for holidays normally. But does not state that one must work either the day before or after.
    Thanks

  9. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Debbie! This is a matter of company policy. There is no state that requires employers to pay workers for holidays. When an employer does offer this benefit, the employer establishes the rules for it. Most employers have a written policy that an employee who calls in sick on the day before or after the holiday is not eligible for holiday pay. However, most employers do permit employees to take paid leave before or after the holiday, and still receive holiday pay. Example: Friday, July 4 is a paid holiday. Jane takes vacation Monday through Thursday, and is paid for the entire week, using only 4 days of vacation. It is very common for employees to “tack on” holidays to vacation in this way.

    In this case, because the employer has no written policy forbidding it, the employee is probably entitled to holiday pay in lieu of vacation pay on that day. (Most employers have a rule that an employee can’t be paid for both on the same day. So Jane is entitled to holiday pay or vacation pay on Friday, but not both.)

    By the way, we have a sister site set up specifically to answer questions like yours. It has the same staff members who write on this site, answering all your HR questions at http://www.humanresourceblog.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

  10. Posted by: Evelyn

    I have worked for a non-profit agency for 23 years as a full-time worker. I was just told that due to funding my employment status will go from 100% to 50% starting Nov. 1, 2008. Do I have a right to holiday pay as I did all these years?
    Evelyn

  11. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Evelyn! Probably not. You have been demoted to part-time employee, and you are now entitled only to the benefits that the employer offers other part-time employees. In some cases, that may even mean you lose your group health insurance. In California, as in many states, an employee who has a significant cut in pay is eligible for unemployment, if they quit. However, if you continue to work for several weeks after the pay cut, that will not apply. You can post additional questions on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

  12. Posted by: USA and UK workers

    This is outrageous. I’ve worked both in the US and the UK and the US is by far the worst working situation out of the two. The USA labor laws are by far the worst when compared to other western nations. No holiday pay, so many ways to cheat employees out of overtime pay, no paid lunch time, hardly any employee protection compared to other western nations, and the list goes on and on.

    I do not understand why workers in the USA stand for this rubbish. Write a letter to your senator or representative for God’s sake. You barely have any holidays in the USA as it is, then they can make you work on the for regular pay. Explain to me the point of having national holidays if you can’t take them off or at least get paid decently for them? Not much point in that really is there.

    This the tiny amount paid vacation time in the US is just crazy. You are meant to feel lucky if you get a week or two of paid time off a year. Most of the world gets at least four weeks of paid vacation — at a minimum. Oh yeah and you have to work at least a year before you qualify. LOL!!! What moron would agree to that? A slave would even want some time off.

    Complain and write letters. You are a slave…. stop thinking like one. The stress is killing you. Help yourselves and help your children and your fellow co-workers.

    Unbelievable.

  13. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi UK and USA! On this site, we usually address only issues related to U.S. labor laws. We approach the problem from the employer’s perspective, rather than the employees. But you know what? We agree with you. U.S. workers have far too few benefits, and far too little protection under the law.

    Just one minor point — the U.S. does not really have national holidays in the same sense that other countries do, as a day when by law nearly all employers are closed. They have federal holidays, but that only means a day when federal offices such as the post office are closed. But on almost everything else, we agree with you.

    Employment law in the U.S. is written for the benefit of the employer and major corporations, not the worker. The theory was that if employers made a lot of money, they would give workers better benefits, more pay and more security. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out that way.

    It’s ironic that you posted your comment on the California Holiday Pay article. California has by far the best employment laws of any state in the nation, to the point that HR pros refer to it as the “People’s Republic of California.” Yet even California does not require paid holidays or sick leave. (Although, to be honest, most employers do offer them voluntarily.) If you think working in California is bad, you should try getting a job in a state like Alabama or Mississippi, where there is not even a state minimum wage or a state law that the employer must pay you on time.

    American workers face more stress than employees in nearly any other country. In addition to the factors that you mentioned, not having any legally required paid sick leave, paid short term disability, paid maternity leave, health care, having ridiculously low federal disability payments and having no old age pension all contribute greatly to the average employees level of stress. It would be interesting to see if any of that changes in the near future. Thanks for your comments, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

  14. Posted by: Patricia

    What is the law regarding vacation time not used at the end of the year? My boss said if I haven’t used it that I lose it and that I can’t carry over the days not used to the new year. What is the law?

  15. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Patricia! Your boss would be right, if you worked in almost any state except California. California does not permit the “use it or lose it” vacation policy, UNLESS the employee is paid for any unused vacation at the end of the year.

    Example: Penny has 12 hours of vacation left on December 31. Penny’s employer can pay her for 12 extra hours of work, or Penny’s employer can permit her to carry the vacation time over into the new year, in California.

    This law is enforced by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, a division of the California Department of Labor.

    Read more about this at: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_Vacation.htm.

    You can get more info by posting questions on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

  16. Posted by: jabbar

    Hi Amelia, I have a strange issue. My partner and I work the graveyard shift at our company. Our employer’s workday is from 5am to 5am. Since our shift basically crosses over regular days (12a-8a) we are finding that we are not getting holiday pay like the other people that do the same work in our department who have shifts that do not cross over (9a-5p) or (1p-9p). Is this a fair practice?

  17. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Jabbar! Well, that depends on why you are not getting holiday pay. Suppose that Tuesday is a paid holiday. For the purposes of your employment, Tuesday begins at 5 am on Tuesday. If you and your partner go to work Monday morning and Wednesday morning, but are off on Tuesday, then it would be reasonable for the employer not to pay you for the holiday. However, if you work all three mornings– Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, then it would certainly be unfair that the other workers are receiving a paid holiday and you are not.
    But unfair is sometimes different from illegal. Is this practice legal? Probably only the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement can decide for sure. HTH, and thanks for reading the blog!~ Amelia

  18. Posted by: Danielle

    In California is an employer required to pay double time and half for working 10 hours on a holiday? my Employer pays holiday pay at double time but i do not get my overtime by working 10 hours

  19. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Danielle! No, there is no law that requires a California employer to pay double-time-and-one-half…ever. This was probably lawful. There is no law in California (or any other state) that requires an employer to pay workers double-time for working on a holiday. The California law requires the employer to pay time-and-one-half when you work more than 8 hours per day. So the employer has far exceeded what the law requires. HTH, and thans for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

  20. Posted by: Ivan Thomson

    Apparently there is no point in having holidays in California. There is no requirement to give the days off. There is no requirement to pay overtime, double pay or anything except the normal pay rate for working on a holiday. And there are practically no holiday days anyway.

    So what is the freaking point of having these stupid days designated as Holidays? They are normal days for all practical purposes.

    Yeah, lets go celebrate my NOT holiday day working for NORMAL pay. Yippy!!!!

  21. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Ivan! You’re absolutely right! In some European countries, holidays are mandated by law. Employers must be closed, or must pay workers a higher rate. We do not have “holidays” in that sense in the U.S. “State holidays” are merely days when offices of the state government are closed. Ditto with “federal holidays” — they are days when federal agencies like the Post Office are closed.
    Under the separation of church and state in the U.S., it is up to every employer to determine what “holidays” — if any — the employer will honor. It is also up to the employer to determine what benefits those “holidays” include: paid or unpaid time off, extra pay, or no benefits.
    Nationwide, millions of employees work on every holiday in a variety of industries, including law enforcement, healthcare, utilities, emergency services, hotels, restaurants and retail operations. So the whole concept of “holidays” is sort of irrelevant. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

  22. Posted by: Ivan Thomson

    Hi Amelia;

    Giving the Employer the right to decide which days (if any) to give employees off and what pay rate increase (if any) for those days is pretty much the same as giving a Slave owner the right to choose what to do with the slaves.

    Also, the word Holiday in America is a TOKEN word. What I mean is that the use of the word is designed in the US give the impression of some sort of benefit when if fact there is none (unless you have a generous boss). And then there is another point. This then distorts the concept of generousity since if you happen to have a boss that does give holidays off or offers increased pay for working holidays then that would be preceived as generous when in fact it should be normal.

    This, combined with the new (old perhaps) trend of ‘AT WILL’ work contracts and you have a total distortion of what a normal job is now in the US.

    Then you slap on the minimum wage issue. California is so generous (again the misuse of the word generous) with its preceived high minimum wage of $8 per hour. Geesh.

    Then you slap on the lack of workers rights/protections and any form of workers protecting themselves (such as a simple matter of enforcing basic rules like receiving a lunch break - because believe me, in California there are thousands of workers (if not more) not getting their basic 10 min breaks and their basic 30 min lunch breaks - why? Because how is a worker to enforce their rights? There is practically no system to do so, and whatever system is provided to do so is rubbish, inadequate and does not function well at all, in addition there are too many loopholes for employers to escape out of) and you have a a complete picture of working conditions in California (and the US for that matter).

    Then slap on the insult of being so-called “lucky” if you manage to receive health care coverage through your job. Wow, I feel so lucky to receive sub-standard insurance accepted at a limited number of locations that covers very little from a company that will make every attempt to denie me payments when I need them most. But remember, “The US has the best medical system in the world!” - pure hog wash.

    Is it any wonder people go postal and there is such a high rate of employee rage and other such problems. The only way you could work under such a system is to burry your head in the sand and pretend everything is wonderful and try to remain numb and ignorant as possible. Because if you bothered to spend any serious time thinking about your situation you would end up angry…then you would end up in jail (oh yeah, doesn’t the US have the highest number of people jailed for an industrialized nation?) after you lashed out from the frustration of a system totally designed to prevent you from getting any help or assisstance.

    Then add the expense of an educational system that will bankrupt you before you even take your first class.

    But remember, taxes are “So LOW in the US”. Yeah I guess so, if you don’t bother to look at the whole picture then anything would appear to be something that it is not.

    Anyway, I was lucky in the sense that I’ve had the opportunity to work and live in various countries and experience the working conditions, employer attitudes, cultural differences, medical system differences and taxes of various countries and receive an education both in the US and the UK. Having been born and raised in Los Angeles, California I was initially blind to the issues as well until I managed to leave the US and see what else is going on in the world. And WOW there is a lot going on besides California and the US. So, I managed to get two degrees without being bankrupted, and I managed to get a lot of health services without having to fill out financial forms and without being bankrupted and I managed to earn a good living without being taxed to death in the so-called “HIGH tax countries” which are not really all the high in taxes once you add up the total picture. In fact I think working and living in California is probably the highest tax place I’ve lived and worked in (with the least benefit to myself and my family).

    Anyway, thank you for your comments. I sincerely, hope something serious is done about the appauling conditions in California (and the US in general).

    As far as the seperation of Church and State issue that is merely an excuse used by the elite to suppress the poor. If the Government were serious about providing holidays then could simply mandate federal “DAYS OF REST” that happen to fall on the days of other holidays. They would be niether sanctioning nor endorsing any particular religion. Anyway the argument has no merit since they plant a big massive Christmas tree on the white house lawn every year anyway but can’t offer the workers of America the day off?

  23. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Ivan! You make some excellent points, and many people will agree with you.
    Just so you know, California offers by far the most protection and the greatest benefits for employees, of any state in the U.S. So much so that HR people traditionally refer to it as “the People’s Republic of California.”
    So if you think things are bad in California, try these other states:
    *South Carolina, where there is no state minimum wage. An employee can legally be paid 10 cents per hour there (unless the federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour applies — and for many smaller employers, it does not.)
    *Florida, which has a minimum wage law but no state agency to enforce it. The employee has to pay a lawyer to sue the employer
    *Most U.S. states, where a small employer (less than 15 workers) can legally discriminate based on race, color, sex, age, disability, pregnancy, etc.
    *Tennessee, which has no minimum wage or overtime law, and no law that employees must be paid on payday
    *31 U.S. states, which have no break law whatsoever, meaning employees can be required to work 16 or more hours per day without a meal break
    *20+ states that have no overtime law, which means (unless the employer is engaging in interstate commerce, and therefore covered by federal law) no overtime, even if they work 100 hours per week
    California at least offers employees short term disability, a minimum wage, overtime and a break law. And, it is much more difficult to fire an employee in California than in other states. (By the way, the “at will” doctrine dates back to England, before the U.S. was even a colony. )
    Many countries, including most of Europe, have better working conditions for employees than the U.S. does. Not to mention the fact that they often mandate 4 or more weeks of vacation for each employee, by law.
    We disagree with you regarding the enforcement of the California break law. The state Department of Labor Standards Enforcement does an excellent job of enforcing it, although there are several loopholes for employers.
    We also agree with you that the nation needs some type of universal health insurance, to ensure that everyone has health care. When people say the U.S. has the world’s best healthcare, they mean the variety and success of treatments if you are wealthy. It is almost the only developed nation without universal healthcare. And, the U.S. healthcare is by far the most expensieve.
    Many, many people would agree with you — it is better to pay an extra 10% or 15% in taxes, and have healthcare, free or low-cost university education, short-term disability, excellent working conditions and old age pensions, than to have “low” taxes and few benefits. Others call that “socialism”.
    Without getting too political, since the Reagan era the U.S. has assumed that if the government treated corporations well, the corporations would treat employees well. It has not always worked out that way. Since you have such fervent beliefs, we would suggest that you become active politically.
    We have to disagree with your statement about slavery, however. Slaves who left their owner were subject to the death penalty. Although jobs are hard to find right now, the employee has the option to quit without being killed. There really is no comparison. But we agree with your general concept, which is that many employers will only treat workers as well as they have to. Thanks for your comments!~Amelia

  24. Posted by: Ivan Thomson

    Thanks again Amelia;

    Your comment give me food for thought. Regarding becoming poltically active I am unsure of how to go about that in an effective manner, but I’ll look into it. Thanks again.

    Great blog by the way!

  25. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Ivan! Great! Our suggestion for becomming politicially active would be to write letters or emails to your reps in Congress, letting them know how you feel about U.S. employment laws. For example, this week members of Congress will introduce a bill that would make 7 days of paid sick leave mandatory — a bill that is opposed by major business groups. It would be helpful to contact your reps in Washington D.C. about it.
    And, volunteer for the political candidate of your choice. The best chance of having an impact on most employee’s lives is to pass federal, not state, laws.
    BTW, workers today worldwide are much better off than ever before. As recently as 75 years ago, children as young as 7 were working up to 16 hours per day on dangerous machinery in factories, with no breaks, no worker safety regulations and no healthcare. They were being paid just pennies per day. So federal laws have improved the lot of American workers! But perhaps not as much as we would like. Thanks for your comments!~ Amelia

  26. Posted by: Amabel

    If it is stated in our employee handbook that 4th of july is an observed holiday and falls on a saturday and our work week is Monday - Friday, is it the law that we have to observe either the Friday day before or Monday after.

  27. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Amabel! This is a matter of company policy rather than employment law. Most employers who offer paid holidays and are closed on the weekends will give employees Friday July 3 off with pay this year. However, some may give Monday off or simply not pay employees for the holiday. This situation is not all that unusual. For example, a few years ago Christmas fell on a Saturday. So you should check how your company has handled this in the past. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

  28. Posted by: James

    My wife works fulltime at a place where she does not get her two paid breaks and on many occasions she is forced to make a call or grab something while clocked out for lunch or after work. This has been going on now for almost a year. With the economy the way it is and California being an “at will” state she is affraid to report it in fear of losing her job. Being “at will” means her boss can just say she is not needed anymore and it’s legal to let her go! What can she do?

    Also, they have no handbook or document stating what there policies are.They seem to make it up as they go. Is that legal?

  29. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi James! We have really, really good news for you. Under California law, the employer must provide a net 10-minute paid rest break for each 4-hour work segment “or major portion thereof.” The state has determined that anything over 2 hours is a “major portion.” The break must be as near the middle of the work segment as possible.
    Now for the really good news. For any day in which the employee is prevented from taking one or more breaks, the employer must pay an additional hour’s wages. So if your wife gets no breaks, or only one break instead of two today, the employer owes her an extra hour’s pay, over and above the time she worked. If she worked 8 hours but missed a break, the employer must pay her for 9 hours.
    Employees can file a wage claim going back 3 years for unpaid wages. So if your wife can figure out what days she did not take a break, she has the right to collect an hour’s pay each day.
    It is true that California is an “at will” state — but it sets more limits on the “at will” status than any other state. It is actually very difficult to fire an employee in California without cause. In particular, state law prohibits an employer from firing or taking disciplinary action against an employee due to the employee filing a wage complaint. If that happens, your wife can file a discrimination complaint with the DLSE. She will most likely get her job back, and possibly penalties as well. Check out the link below, especially the final question.
    For most issues, there is no law that an employer in California or elsewhere have company policies in writing. In some sense, every small business owner is making it up as they go along. So, yes, as long as the policies are in accordance with state law and do not discriminate against employees based on race, color, religion, etc., this method of operation is legal. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

    Read more about this at: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_RestPeriods.htm

  30. Posted by: Ivan Thomson

    Hey James, my wife has been working at a place since January that gives no breaks and no lunch break. Good luck getting any results. By the way I started working at the same place as well and I and my wife now get breaks but that is only because I threatened to knock the managers head in so he leaves us alone now; prior to that they would yell at your for going on break. unfortunately the state is totally useless in labor law enforcement. Look at how many illegals hold jobs in California for one example.

RELATED LINKS

Subscribe to RSS

Subscribe to this blog via email
Delivered by FeedBurner
add