Virginia Legal Holidays Laws

By Amber Sheppard, Esq. | Legally reviewed by FindLaw Staff | Last reviewed October 15, 2024

Legal holidays help us remember national events and historical figures while pacing Virginia employers through the work year. While getting an odd Monday or Friday out of the office is nice, not all holidays are legal holidays in Virginia. Not every employer treats holiday pay, or vacation leave the same.

This FindLaw article serves as a brief overview of legal holiday laws in Virginia.

Holidays in the State of Virginia

A legal holiday is a day set aside for celebration or remembrance. Some examples include Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. On these days, salaried workers may get paid days off. Others may earn extra holiday pay if their scheduled work hours fall on a holiday, and it's part of their company's policy. Most legal holidays are by federal law through the federal government.

State law can also make legal holidays. Virginia celebrates Lee-Jackson Day and Yorktown Day besides the usual federal holidays.

Virginia Legal Holidays Statutes

A list of Virginia legal holiday laws appears in Virginia Code Section 2.2-3300. Here are the state holidays.

New Year's Day
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday
Lee-Jackson Day
Washington's Birthday
Memorial Day, the last Monday in May
Juneteenth
Independence Day
Labor Day, the first Monday in September
Columbus Day
Yorktown Victory Day
Veterans Day to celebrate those who served in the armed forces and National Guard
Election Day
Thanksgiving Day
Friday after Thanksgiving
Christmas Day

If a holiday falls on a Saturday, workers get the preceding Friday off work. If it falls on a Sunday, they get the next Monday.

Virginia has other state holidays that are not legal holidays. Some examples include:

Observance of Motherhood and Apple Pie Day
Little League Challenger Week
Arbor Day
Dogwood Day
First Lady's Day
Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

The governor and the legislature can change these holidays by law. Before relying on this list, check the current law.

Virginia Labor Laws

One primary concern with legal holidays is how they affect employment in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia has strict wage and hour laws that establish minimum wage and overtime rates for employees. The federal law is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Virginia has an Overtime Wage Act that provides 1.5 times the regular pay rate to employees who work over 40 hours in a work week.

But many employers in the state are not required to pay employees extra for working legal holidays or even give them the day off. According to the Department of Labor, there is no guarantee under federal employment law for a special overtime rate for work performed on legal holidays.

A private employer in Virginia could force employees to work on Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, or Christmas. The employee could get paid their regular rate and not a holiday rate.

Many employers prefer to treat legal holidays as overtime in their company policy. This varies from company to company if it pays overtime pay for work on a holiday. Virginia minimum wage is $12.

Other Types of Leave

Besides holiday leave, there is sick leave. Your employer can pay you for sick leave, depending on your company's policies.

The federal law named the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows you to take leave from work to care for yourself or a family member. There are eligibility requirements to qualify for FMLA. Once again, the leave is unpaid.

Jury duty leave is available in Virginia. Your employer does not pay you, but the court where you serve can pay you up to $50 a day. Your employer must allow you to attend jury duty without penalty.

Military leave is another type of leave in Virginia. Your employer must allow you to fulfill your military obligations without penalizing you. You can get up to 21 days of pay.