Time Off and Summer Holidays

As we enter the summer and employees looking to take time off during the upcoming summer holidays, it is a good time to review employer’s obligations to accommodate requests for time off for holidays and best pay practices during holidays. 

California employers are not required to provide employees time off for holidays.

• There is no requirement that California employers provide time off (except for religious accommodations)

• Hours worked on holidays and weekends are treated like hours worked on any other day of the week.

• California law does not require that an employer provide its employees with paid holidays, that it closes its business on any holiday, or that employees be given the day off for any particular holiday.

California employers are not required to pay for time off for holidays, nor are they required to pay additional wages if employees work on holidays.

• There is no requirement that employers pay employees extra pay or “holiday pay” for work performed on holidays. Employers can voluntarily agree to pay employees extra pay for work that is required during holidays, but these terms would be governed by policy set forth by the employer.

Employers must provide reasonable accommodations for employees who cannot work on certain holidays due to religious observances.

• Employers need to be aware of any religious observances of their employees since employers need to provide reasonable accommodations for employees due to religious reasons. The analysis of reasonable accommodation is on case-by-case basis depending on the company’s type of business and the accommodation requested by the employee.

• This should be communicated to employees in the handbook or other policies and set the expectation that an essential function of the job requires work during normal holidays.