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.

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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

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