National holidays????

[amiegaines654]

What is the name of your state? TEXAS

Does anyone know what the Texas state laws concerning national holidays. I have heard that there are certain holidays that an employer is required to either give the day off or pay time and a half. Is this correct, or can an employer work all national holidays?

 

[pattytx]

You heard incorrectly. There is no law in Texas (or any state except Massachusetts in limited circumstances) that requires an employee be paid for working a holiday, federally-recognized or not. Nor is there any legal prohibition against requiring you to work on a holiday. In Texas, holiday schedules and pay practices concerning holidays are strictly up to the employer.

 

[amiegaines654]

Ok, thank you so much for your response

 

[Beth3]

National holidays apply only to government employees and the banking industry. If you work in the private sector, your employer doesn't have to provide holidays at all. While many employers do pay pay premium pay (time and a-half or double time) if an employee works on a holiday the employer offers, it is not required.

 

[cbg]

There is no such thing as a national holiday, if by that you mean a holiday that the employer is required to recognize in some way, shape or form. There are some industries where there MUST be some employees at work 365 days a year. There is NO holiday that private employers are obligated to offer or to pay premium time for except as indicated below.

To give you some examples: hotels could not operate if all the employees had holidays off. Holidays are some of a hotel's busiest days.

Hospitals operate 365 days a year. They also are sometimes busiest on holidays.

Same with police and fire departments.

Many catalogue retailers are open 365 days a year.

To expand on Patty's answer, in NO state is there a legal obligation for an employer to provide any paid holidays at all. In Massachusetts and ONLY in Massachusetts, in some, very limited circumstances some, but by no means all, employers are required to pay time and a half for those employees who work on one of six specific holidays.