North Carolina Legal Holidays and Holiday Pay Laws
Key Takeaways
The North Carolina Wage and Hour Act doesn’t require private employers to offer any paid holidays for their employees. Federal and state government workers are paid under the North Carolina Human Resources Act, which limits public holidays to 12.
North Carolina wage laws follow the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Employers are not required to provide paid time off for vacation time or sick leave unless they choose to.
If a private employer designates a legal holiday as a paid holiday in an employment contract, they can make it exclusive to certain employees, such as full-time or part-time workers. When an employer does so, they must continue to abide by the contract terms for all employees covered by the contract.
Private employers must make their holiday pay, overtime pay, and sick leave policies available to all workers via written notification or a posted notice. Public employers must follow state and local law requirements.
Holiday Leave
The state of North Carolina recognizes 11 state and federal holidays, including New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. If a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is the official public holiday.
North Carolina also recognizes several state and regional holidays, including Good Friday, Greek Independence Day, Yom Kippur, Columbus Day (now federally recognized as Indigenous Peoples’ Day), and the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in election years. However, public offices are open on Greek Independence Day and Columbus Day.
Paid and Unpaid Leave
State employees who work on designated holidays receive their regular rate of base pay plus premium pay equal to 0.5 times (one-half) their regular hourly rate, alongside holiday compensatory time off (up to eight hours).
Private employees must receive whatever their employment agreement states. Private employers don’t have to pay for breaks and sick leave. Under federal law, eligible workers can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for family members or their own serious health issues through the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). All employees who have worked more than 1250 hours in the previous 12 months qualify for unpaid leave under FMLA.
Employers can’t fire or discipline employees for exercising their civil rights to vote, attend jury duty, or report for military service. Employers don’t have to provide paid or unpaid time off for these employee rights, but they can’t fire employees for doing so.
Enforcement
North Carolina employers must follow their own policies when paying workers, providing meal breaks, and scheduling holidays and vacation time. If you’re not being paid according to your employer’s policies, you can file a complaint with the North Carolina Department of Labor, even if your employer is a private company. State employees can file a complaint with either the appropriate state agency where they are employed or with the North Carolina Office of Human Resources.
North Carolina Legal Holidays Laws: Related Resources
Get Legal Advice From a North Carolina Employment Law Attorney
State laws change regularly and can be confusing for everyone involved. If you believe you’ve been denied holiday pay you are entitled to or have other employment-related issues, you may be time-limited to resolve your problem. Contact a North Carolina employment law attorney for answers and help with your job issue.
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