Are Employers Required to Give Holiday Pay or Paid Holidays? (2024) – California Labor and Employment Law (2024)

FAQs

Are Employers Required to Give Holiday Pay or Paid Holidays? (2024) – California Labor and Employment Law? ›

California law does not require employers to provide you paid days off for holidays or to give you overtime/premium pay (“holiday pay”) for working on holidays. There are also no legal requirements that a business: close on a holiday, give you a day off for a holiday, or.

Hours worked on holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays are treated like hours worked on any other day of the week. California law does not require that an employer provide its employees with paid holidays, that it close its business on any holiday, or that employees be given the day off for any particular holiday.

Currently State holidays observed by the State Treasurer's Office are January 1 (New Year's Day); the third Monday in January (Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday); the third Monday in February (President's Birthday); April 1 (Cesar Chavez' Birthday Observed); the last Monday in May (Memorial Day); July 4 (Independence ...

español. Starting on January 1, 2024, employers must generally provide 5 days or 40 hours of paid sick leave to their employees in California.

There is no legal requirement in California that an employer provide its employees with either paid or unpaid vacation time.

Which Holidays Are Paid In California? This varies based on the company, but generally, the following holidays are paid in California: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Yes. For example, an employer may require that employees work or be on an approved leave status the day before and after a holiday in order to receive holiday pay. An employer may also require an employee to have worked for the company for a specified period of time before being eligible for holiday pay.

I hate to dim your holiday cheer, but: neither federal law, nor California law, requires employers to give holiday pay or paid holidays. This is true whether you are an exempt salaried or non-exempt hourly paid employee. So if your employer gives holiday pay, that's great.

(KTXL) — In California, there were 11 holidays that the state observes every year. New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, President's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas are all federal holidays.

If an employer does not correct a problem with holiday pay, an employee could make a claim to an employment tribunal. There are strict time limits for making a claim to an employment tribunal. In most cases, an employees has 3 months minus 1 day from the date of the most recent wrong holiday payment.

What are the new PSL rules for 2024? ›

California's amended Paid Sick Leave (PSL) law introduced notable changes for California employers effective January 1, 2024. The amended PSL law now requires employers to provide the greater of 5 days or 40 hours in annual paid sick leave for eligible employees.

California Employment Law Context

California law does not explicitly mandate employers to require a doctor's note for sick leave. However, some employers still insist on it.

The employer cannot require that the worker use paid sick leave; that is the worker's choice. If the worker decides to use paid sick leave, the employer can require they take a minimum of two hours of paid sick leave. The determination of how much paid sick leave will be used is up to the employee.

Employers who provide holiday benefits usually either give you a paid day off or pay a premium rate. California law does not require employers to provide you paid days off for holidays or to give you overtime/premium pay (“holiday pay”) for working on holidays.

Vacation Accrual Caps in California

Unlike some other states, California does not allow "use-it-or-lose-it" vacation policies. Under a "use-it-or-lose-it" policy, accrued vacation must be used by a certain date – usually by the end of the year – or it is forfeited.

Under a new law, employees in California are guaranteed five paid sick days a year, two days more than previously.

If payday falls on a holiday, the employer may pay on the next business day after the holiday. Under California law, employers may pay on the next business day after the holiday.

In California, there are 11 state holidays on which state offices/schools are closed and state/school employees are paid.

This separation of church and state means the government cannot establish a state religion or “endorse” a particular religion. And yet, Christmas is a federal holiday. Christmas, a day celebrating the birth of Jesus, whom Christians regard as the Messiah, is the only religious holiday with such status.

According to the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, a floating holiday in California is the same as vacation time. As such, the laws that apply to vacation time also apply to floating holidays. Any unused floating holiday days must roll over from one year to the next.