Fact Check: Holiday Pay Laws by State and Federal Rules

The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require any holiday pay — neither paid time off for a holiday nor a premium for working on one.

29 U.S.C. §207(a)(1) requires overtime at "not less than one and one-half times the regular rate" for hours "longer than forty hours" per workweek.

29 U.S.C. §207(e)(2) excludes "payments made for occasional periods when no work is performed due to vacation, holiday, illness, failure of the employer to provide sufficient work, or other similar cause" from the regular rate.

29 U.S.C. §207(e)(6) excludes premium pay for holiday/weekend work from the regular rate IF the premium is "not less than one and one-half times the rate established in good faith for like work performed in nonovertime hours on other days."

29 U.S.C. §207(h)(2) — verbatim "Extra compensation paid as described in paragraphs (5), (6), and (7) of subsection (e) shall be creditable toward overtime compensation payable pursuant to this section."

29 CFR §778.209 — verbatim "The amount of the bonus is merely added to the other earnings of the employee (except statutory exclusions) and the total divided by total hours worked."

29 CFR §778.211(b) — "The employer must retain discretion both as to the fact of payment and as to the amount until a time quite close to the end of the period for which the bonus is paid."

29 CFR §778.211(c) lists examples of non-discretionary bonuses: bonuses promised on hiring, from collective bargaining, attendance, production, quality, continued-employment.

29 CFR §778.216 confirms the §207(e)(2) exclusion AND adds that "no part of such payments can be credited toward overtime compensation due under the Act."

29 CFR §4.174 — McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act holiday-pay framework. Entitlement requires the employee to perform "any work during the workweek in which a named holiday occurs"; holiday benefit applies regardless of whether the holiday falls on a non-workday; a full-time employee who works on a holiday must be paid "in addition to the amount he ordinarily would be entitled to for that day's work, the cash equivalent of a full-day's pay up to 8 hours or be furnished another day off with pay."

29 CFR §5.5 (Davis-Bacon contract clauses) — fringe-benefit treatment. "Contributions made or costs reasonably anticipated for bona fide fringe benefits under the Davis-Bacon Act...on behalf of laborers or mechanics are considered wages paid to such laborers or mechanics." Contractor may "pay the benefit as stated in the wage determination or may pay another bona fide fringe benefit or an hourly cash equivalent thereof."

Rhode Island General Laws §25-3-3 — "Work performed by employees on Sundays and holidays must be paid for at least one and one-half (1½) times the normal rate of pay" with statutory exemption categories including manufacturers operating seven days per week, wall-covering manufacturers, certain taxi/limousine companies, airport car rental agencies.

Rhode Island §25-3-3 was amended in 2021 (P.L. 2021, ch. 32 and ch. 36); several pre-2021 grandfathered exemptions remain in effect.

Massachusetts Chapter 121 of the Acts of 2018 ("Grand Bargain" — "An Act Relative to Minimum Wage, Paid Family Medical Leave and the Sales Tax Holiday") phased out retail Sunday/holiday premium pay from 1.5× in 2018 through 1.1× in 2023 then eliminated.

Updated Rhode Island DLT regulations clarifying the "retail employer" definition for §25-3-3 took effect during 2025.

85 FR 2014 (2020 Final Rule, "Regular Rate Under the Fair Labor Standards Act," effective January 15, 2020) updated 29 CFR Part 778 regular-rate exclusion regulations. Did NOT change the §778.211 non-discretionary bonus inclusion rule.

89 FR 4444 (2024 Davis-Bacon Final Rule — "Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations," effective October 23, 2023) restored the three-step prevailing-wage methodology, strengthened anti-retaliation, expanded trucking coverage. Did not change the holiday-pay fringe-benefit framework.

Groff v. DeJoy, 600 U.S. 447 (June 29, 2023) — verbatim "Title VII requires an employer that denies a religious accommodation to show that the burden of granting an accommodation would result in substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular business."

Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison, 432 U.S. 63 (1977) — established the "de minimis cost" standard for Title VII religious accommodation; governed for nearly 50 years until replaced by Groff.

Camp v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., 84 Cal. App. 5th 638 (2022) — California's leading time-clock rounding case. Review granted at the California Supreme Court (S277518) in February 2023; pending as of mid-2026.

11 federal holidays in the current OPM list (long-standing 10 + Juneteenth added by the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act signed June 17, 2021).

DOL Wage and Hour Division's public FAQ states: "Extra pay for working weekends or nights is a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee...The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require extra pay for weekend or night work" and "The FLSA does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations, sick leave or federal or other holidays. These benefits are matters of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employee's representative)."