There are NINE national holidays and EIGHT state holidays which state employees are allowed to take. The holidays are listed below:
NATIONAL HOLIDAYS:
The first day of January, New Year’s Day
The third Monday in January, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
The third Monday in February, Presidents’ Day
The last Monday, in May Memorial Day
The fourth day in July, Fourth of July
The first Monday in September, Labor Day
The 11th day of November, Veteran’s Day
The fourth Thursday in November, Thanksgiving Day
The 25th day of December, Christmas Day
STATE HOLIDAYS
The 19th day of January, Confederate Heroes Day
The second day of March, Texas Independence Day
The 21st day of April, San Jacinto Day
The 19th day of June, Emancipation Day
The 27th day of August, LBJ’s Birthday
The fourth Friday of November, Thanksgiving Holiday
The 24th day of December, Christmas Holiday
The 26th day of December, Christmas Holiday
CHOOSING THE HOLIDAYS
Each component can choose which holidays to celebrate provided they fall on a Monday through Friday. State employees are not entitled to a holiday if it falls on a weekend, hence the variability in the number of holidays from year to year.
National holidays are considered FULL holidays (the “circled” days on the calendar) and do NOT require a skeleton crew; state holidays require that enough employees be on duty to conduct public business-- they become the “skeleton crew” holidays (the “square” days). EXCEPTIONS to this rule are the fourth Friday of November and December 24 and December 26.
In 1993, the Executive Council approved the following CORE holidays:
Labor Day (1 day)
Thanksgiving (2 days)
Christmas (2 days)
New Year’s Day (1 day)
Martin Luther King (1 day)
Memorial Day (1 day)
Independence Day (1 day)
The model used to develop the calendar is to count the total number of holidays that fall on a Monday through Friday and subtract the CORE holidays for UTHealth. The committee then determines the remaining holidays, which vary up to six days. Be reminded, national holidays are full holidays versus state or other holidays which require a skeleton crew.
