California Holiday Pay and Legal Holidays Laws

It’s just after the holiday season. You’ve put in your time and missed a few family gatherings as a result, but you’re expecting to see additional pay in your next paycheck to make up for it. This raises an important question. Are California employers required to provide paid holidays for their employees or extra pay for working on a legal holiday?

While California labor laws offer some of the strongest employee protections in the nation, the laws about holiday pay may surprise you. Your employer’s holiday schedule is generally based on company policy and not on legal requirements. To further complicate things, California laws use the word “holiday” in several different ways. The resulting confusion is a common source of workplace disputes.

This article provides a detailed look at California’s laws about holiday pay and legal holidays, with a focus on private-sector (non-government) employees. For a broader look at federal rules and approaches taken in other states, see our companion article on holiday pay.

State Laws About Holiday Pay

The most important thing to know about holidays in California is that private employers are not required to provide them. In other words, California employers are not legally required to pay premium pay, such as time-and-a-half or double time, for working on holidays. There is also no requirement to provide paid time off for holidays.

California law does not require private employers to provide holiday incentives to their employees. There are certain elements to be aware of, which we explain below.

An Employer’s Written Promise

Many employers choose to offer holiday incentives, such as additional pay for working on specific holidays or providing the day off, with or without pay. Again, there is no legal requirement for an employer to do this. Unless a promise to pay holiday incentives is in writing, such as in an employment contract, employee handbook, company policy, or collective bargaining agreement, holiday pay is not required by law in the private sector.

If an employer’s policy provides holiday incentives, the employer must honor that promise. In this case, holiday pay becomes a wage benefit that the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) will enforce.

The employer may set its own requirements for holiday pay, such as:

• The holiday must fall on a normally scheduled workday (common for part-time employees)
• Requiring a specific amount of full-time work (waiting time) before the benefit kicks in
• Employee must be actively employed on the holiday

The key to a valid holiday policy is that it must be clearly stated and consistently applied. If your employer promises holiday pay in the employee handbook, employment contract, or company policy, they must follow their own rules. They can’t randomly change the rules or apply them only to certain employees.

Important Considerations for Non-Exempt Employees

Non-exempt employees in California are usually entitled to overtime pay for working more than eight hours in a day or more than 40 hours in a workweek. This doesn’t mean that you’ll automatically receive overtime for working on a holiday. This is a common misunderstanding. An employer is free to offer extra pay for holiday work, but the law does not require it.

Employers must always pay non-exempt employees overtime pay according to the labor laws. California Labor Code § 510 requires employers to pay employees overtime pay for the hours of labor or hours worked. When holiday pay is included in the work week, an employee may have over 40 hours of pay and still be compensated at their regular rate of pay for the entire week.

For example, if an hourly employee works 40 hours in a workweek and receives eight hours of paid time off for a holiday, the employee receives 48 hours of total compensation. However, since only 40 hours were actually worked, no overtime is owed beyond any daily overtime already earned during those 40 worked hours for working more than eight hours in a day. In other words, when calculating overtime in a week with a paid holiday, hours paid are not the same as hours worked.

Important Considerations for Exempt Employees

If you are an exempt (salary) employee, a holiday generally does not reduce your pay. As long as you work any part of the week, your employer must pay you your full salary. That said, your employer may require you to use vacation time or paid time off (PTO) for a holiday closure. In other words, your employer may not reduce your salary for a holiday, but they may reduce your PTO balance.

If your employer reduces your salary because of a holiday or a partial-day absence tied to a holiday, this can raise misclassification or wage-and-hour issues. You may want to contact a California labor law attorney. This can be a costly mistake for your employer.

California Holidays

For the most part, California recognizes the same core holidays as the federal government. The state also recognizes elective holidays and additional holidays that are narrowly recognized, if at all.

Remember, private employers are under no legal obligation to provide paid holidays to their employees. That said, they may choose to recognize any of these holidays or choose to observe a specific holiday of their own, such as the company’s founding date.

Let’s untangle the holidays recognized in California.

Paid State-Employee Holidays: The Core Group

A state employee who is required to work on any of these state legal holidays is entitled to their regular rate of pay and eight hours of holiday credit. The law that creates these holidays is California Government Code § 19853. The California Secretary of State keeps an up-to-date list of the state employee holidays.

• New Year’s Day – January 1
• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – 3rd Monday in January
• President’s Day (George Washington’s Birthday)- 3rd Monday in February
• Cesar Chavez Day – March 31
• Memorial Day – last Monday of May
• Independence Day – July 4
• Labor Day – 1st Monday in September
• Veterans Day – November 11
• Thanksgiving Day – 4th Thursday in November
• The day after Thanksgiving Day
• December 25-Christmas Day

For the most part, California recognizes the same holidays as the federal government, except:

• Cesar Chavez Day and the day after Thanksgiving Day (not federal-employee paid holidays)
• Juneteenth National Independence Day and Columbus Day (not state-employee paid holidays)

The federal government continues to refer to the February holiday as “Washington’s Birthday” and the October holiday as “Columbus Day,” while many state and local governments now refer to the October holiday as “Indigenous Peoples’ Day.” The federal law addressing public legal holidays is 5 U.S.C. § 6103.

California law also grants state employees a personal holiday credit or “floating holiday” to use on a day of their choice under California Government Code § 19854. The law also grants the Governor the authority to appoint additional days for “a public fast, thanksgiving, or holiday.”

California Elective Holidays

In addition to the core holidays listed above, California recognizes elective holidays. These cultural and religious observances are not automatically state-employee holidays, but state employees can choose to observe one by using their personal holiday credit. They include:

• Lunar New Year – usually the date corresponding with the new moon after the winter solstice
• Genocide Remembrance Day – April 24
• Diwali – recognized for the first time on Monday, November 9, 2026
• Juneteenth – June 19
• Native American Day – 4th Friday in September

California Legal Holidays With Limited or Narrow Impact

A few more state holidays are recognized under a different law, California Government Code § 6700. The holidays from this law that don’t overlap with California’s core holidays and elective holidays are:

• Every Sunday
• Lincoln Day – February 12
• Admission Day – September 9
• Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day – 2nd Monday in October
• Good Friday, from 12 pm to 3 pm (judicial holiday only) – the Friday before Easter

These holidays have limited, narrow, or no impact on state office closures or holiday pay for state employees. Instead, they are more about filing deadlines or historical importance.

Agency Holidays

Government agencies may have their own lists of observed holidays. For example, California’s Employment Development Department observes a comprehensive list of legal holidays that affect when your employer must report or pay employment taxes. While this doesn’t affect you as an employee, it demonstrates how complex and varied the definition of “holiday” is in California.

Local Legal Holidays

In addition to state legal holidays, some cities and counties have additional legal holidays that affect local offices and local government employees. For example:

• The city of Los Angeles recognizes Indigenous Peoples’ Day (the second Monday in October) as a paid holiday for city employees
• Orange County recognizes President Lincoln’s birthday in February (distinct from the combined President’s Day holiday) and Native American Day in September (distinct from Indigenous Peoples’ Day) as paid holidays for most county employees

Your city, county, or both may recognize additional paid holidays for local government employees.

Get Legal Advice for Your Wage and Hour Concerns

While the lists of California holidays and their inconsistent overlap can be challenging to understand, the state’s stance on paid holidays for private-sector employees is not. The state does not require employers to offer holiday pay, but if they do, they must consistently apply it.

If holiday time has come and gone and you didn’t receive the extra pay required by your employment agreement, company policy, or collective bargaining agreement, you may want to meet with an attorney for legal advice. Exempt employees who discover their employer either reduced or docked their salary for a holiday closure should consider discussing a potential claim with an attorney. A California employment law attorney can evaluate your case and help you figure out your next steps.