What are paid holidays?

Paid holidays are national, state, or religious holidays that employers can choose to offer their employees as paid holidays. There is no federal law in the US that forces employers to offer paid holidays to their employees. The  Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)  only regulates minimum wage and overtime pay.

How do paid holidays affect hourly vs. salaried employees?

As noted above,  the FLSA  does not require businesses to provide paid holidays to their employees. Whether these employees are hourly or salaried does not affect the determination from a legal perspective. The employer decides whether they will give their employees a day off on a particular holiday and whether it will be a paid holiday.

 For  hourly employees who  are eligible for overtime pay  , holidays are not considered any different from a normal workday and do not automatically qualify for overtime pay. Again, it is up to employers to decide whether they will provide more pay during holidays. While  salaried employees  are paid on an annual basis and are not subject to overtime pay, they are also not guaranteed paid holidays.

How important are holidays with pay?

Although there is no specific data on paid holidays, paid vacation and holiday time are consistently  listed among the most important benefits by both employees and employers  . Many employees expect paid holidays and vacation as part of their employment benefits.

Some research suggests that employees may choose these benefits over a better salary. HRMantra research found that  30% of employees leave a job solely because of the benefits package.  Better health benefits, more flexible work hours, and vacation time are high priorities for employees.

And business owners agree, too.  According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), employers list paid vacation as one of the top three most important benefits for their employees  .

What are the benefits of offering paid holidays?

According to the SHRM  report, paid leave is associated with:

• increase productivity
• Increased participation
• Better physical health
• Positive Employer Brand

While SHRM has focused on paid leave in general, these benefits can be extended to paid holidays as well.

Whether or not a business offers paid holidays and which holidays it chooses depends on the industry and  the culture of the organization  . However, from a more realistic perspective, employees want to spend holidays with their friends and families. Providing paid holidays helps them feel that the organization cares about their lives beyond the job – gaining their loyalty and increasing satisfaction.

Most Common Paid Holidays

 According to  a 2018 survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) , American workers receive an average of eight paid holidays per year, with three out of four civilian workers receiving paid holidays.

Below are the most common paid holidays across all sectors (civil, public and government):

• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• christmas day
• new Year's Day

Employers may also choose to offer other federal holidays as paid holidays. For more information,  read about federal holidays in detail here  .