West Virginia Legal Holidays Laws

There are many ways to track the year's passing in West Virginia. A universal way is marking holidays on a calendar. This FindLaw article briefly introduces legal holiday laws in West Virginia.

Holidays in West Virginia

State legal holiday laws can vary. For example, while most holidays are nationally celebrated, like Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, West Virginia also recognizes West Virginia Day every year on June 20.

West Virginia Legal Holidays Statutes

The details of West Virginia's legal holiday laws are in West Virginia Code 2-2-1: Legal Holidays and Special Memorial Holidays.

Here are the days in a calendar year that are West Virginia holidays:

• New Year's Day
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which is usually the third Monday in January
• Washington's Birthday
• Lincoln's Birthday
• Memorial Day
• West Virginia Day (June 20)
• Independence Day
• Labor Day, which is usually the first Monday in September
• Columbus Day
• Susan B. Anthony Day (in even-numbered years)
• Marshall University 75 Memorial Day (Nov. 14, to honor the 75 people killed in a plane crash in 1970)
• Vietnam Veteran Recognition Day
• Purple Heart Recognition Day
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day
• West Virginia Day of Prayer (first week of May)
• Korean War Veteran Recognition Day
• Any national, state, or other election day throughout any district or municipality

Special Memorial Weeks

The State of West Virginia's Governor can declare state holiday weeks under West Virginia law. Here are some of those weeks:

• The week beginning with the Sunday before Thanksgiving is Native American Indian Heritage Week
• The week of Dec. 7 is Pearl Harbor and Military Appreciation Week

These weeks can change, so always pay attention to your employee policies and procedures for the calendar year.

Legal Holidays and Employment

It's natural to wonder how legal holidays affect employment and pay periods. State employees typically have off on all state holidays. If the holiday falls on a weekend, then the state proclaims the following Monday the day offices close.

West Virginia has wage-and-hour laws. Minimum wage and overtime pay statutes determine how much, when, and how we get paid for standard hours. But state law doesn't require employers to offer paid time off for national and state holidays. If your workday falls on a holiday, talk to your employer. In-state employers may not be required to pay employees extra for working legal holidays.

West Virginia Holiday Overtime

Typically, if you work overtime, the federal law known as the Fair Labor Standards Act requires you to get overtime pay. Unfortunately, holidays in West Virginia do not involve overtime.

No federal employment or labor laws require extra pay for work performed on legal holidays. Private employers in West Virginia can make their employees work on holidays. They only have to pay them average wages.

Many bosses recognize the benefits of happy staff. They voluntarily give employees legal holidays off or provide overtime pay when working on a holiday.

How your employer treats legal holidays depends on the terms of your employment contract.

Ask a West Virginia Lawyer About Legal Holidays

Figuring out how your employer treats legal holidays during your workweek is challenging. FindLaw's section on Employment Law offers more articles and resources on this and other topics like the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and military leave. You can work with a West Virginia employment law attorney in your area if you want legal help about an employment matter.