Do I Get Extra Pay For Working Holidays If The Office Is Closed For Holidays, Do I Get Paid

Don't get fired by demanding extra pay to which you're not entitled

Donna Ballman

AOL Jobs readers have lots of questions about holiday pay. Most think
you get paid extra if you work on the holidays. Here are some questions
I've been asked:

On my job here in Illinois I worked on the holiday and was paid
regular time. My boss said she gave me two days off doing the week so
working on the holiday gave me 40 hours and I don't get paid double. I
explained to her that it if you work on the holiday you get paid double
pay. I went out on an appointment with a patient and stayed out 4.5
hours over and was told I had to leave 4.5 hour early so my time adds up
to 40 hrs. that week. My question is this legal?

My employer has several "policies" that are unfair at least if not
illegal. This is a construction job out of NJ. Among other issues, there
are no paid holidays. Is this inconsiderate, immoral or illegal?

I work in a NY hospital. I worked a 6 pm to 12 pm shift, on New
Year's Day. The day shift got paid time and a half for their hours but I
was told that my shift did not qualify for holiday pay. I thought the
holiday is a 24 hour day. Did this hospital do anything illegal by
paying some employees and not others for the same work performed?

So, are you entitled to time and a half or double time if you work on
holidays? Does the employer have to pay if you don't work on a holiday
because the company is closed? Here's what you need to know about
holiday pay:



Extra pay for working on holidays



There is no federal law requiring any extra pay for working on a holiday
for non-government employees who aren't working on federal contracts.
Not double time. Not even time and a half. What the federal law requires
is that if you work over 40 hours per week, and you aren't exempt from
overtime, you must be paid time and a half. So if you work Christmas Day
as a favor to a coworker who wants time off, and you already worked 40
hours this week, you have to be paid overtime if you aren't exempt. But
yes, if you work on Christmas and that takes you to 40 hours, your
employer can demand you take the rest of the week off to avoid paying
overtime



If you don't know whether you are exempt, check out my column, Salaried Workers, Do You Get Overtime? Odds Are You Should. My column 10 Tricks Employers Use To Cheat Workers Out Of Overtime might help too.



I haven't found any state laws requiring extra pay for holidays for
private sector employees either, so if your state has such a law, let me
know in the comments section. (By the way, Rhode Island has an
interesting law, saying employers can't make you work on holidays, and
can't discriminate against you if you refuse.)



If you have a contract, union agreement, or if the employer's policy
says you get paid holidays, then it may also require extra pay if you
have to work on a holiday. Some employers offer incentive pay to
encourage employees to voluntarily work on a holiday. However, they can
designate all or part of the holiday for paying that incentive pay. If
the employer's policy or the contract designates the entire holiday for
extra pay, then the entire 24-hour period probably qualifies for that
extra pay.



Otherwise, you probably get regular pay for working on a holiday.



Holiday pay if the office is closed



If you're exempt from overtime, and you worked any part of the week,
then you must be paid if the office is closed. If you aren't exempt,
then there is no federal law requiring any paid holidays for
non-government workers who aren't working on federal contracts. I
haven't found any state laws requiring any paid holidays in the private
sector either. If your state has such a law, let me know in the comments
section. So, is it inconsiderate and immoral not to pay employees for
holidays? Yes. Illegal? Probably not.



If you don't work for government, then you may have a contract or union
agreement requiring paid holidays. Many companies offer paid holidays,
but private sector companies can change their holiday pay policies
whenever they want.



Working on government contracts



Two federal laws address holiday pay as benefits for employees who are working on federal contracts: The McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act and the Davis-Bacon Act.
These laws mandate certain paid holidays. How much extra you get paid
under these laws for working overtime depends on whether you are
full-time or part-time and some other factors. The details on holiday pay for McNamara-O'Hara are here. More information on Davis-Bacon Act holiday pay is here.



Happy still-employed holidays



So, have a wonderful holiday season, but don't get yourself in trouble
demanding extra pay you aren't entitled to, or by refusing to work
unless you get extra pay. This is a very bad time of year to get fired.