This season may be a holiday, but for small business owners and employees, the holiday pay policy may be confusing. Let’s briefly review the legality of holidays, overtime pay and holiday pay.

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What are federal holidays in the United States?

Federal holidays are holidays that the U.S. government observes. Although most government offices are closed these days, small business owners and other private employers can choose to stay open. Companies that are closed on federal holidays do not need to pay their employees’ rest days, while companies that remain open are not obliged to pay employees extra wages during normal working hours. Generally speaking, holidays are regarded as normal working days, and employees receive normal wages according to working hours. If the federal holiday falls on a weekend, it is usually observed on the nearest working day.

The U.S. government lists these days as federal holidays:

• New Year’s Day
• Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday
• Washington’s Birthday (also known as President’s Day)
• Anniversary
• independence Day
• Labor day
• Columbus Day (or Aboriginal Day)
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas

What is a paid holiday?

The United States does not require paid holidays, but some employers may decide to provide compensation to their employees based on policy decisions, such as Employment contract or Employee HandbookIn addition to the federal holidays listed above, other paid holidays may include:

• Good Friday
• Easter
• Friday after Thanksgiving
• Christmas Eve
• The day after Christmas (also called Boxing Day)
• New Year’s Eve
• Other commemorative festivals, such as César Chávez Day

Ultimately, paid holidays are defined by each employer. If you have any questions about the policy of recording holidays, Ask a lawyer.

Do I have to take a vacation on religious holidays?

If multiple employees request leave to celebrate religious holidays, the employer must meet such requirements in a consistent and non-discriminatory manner.As pointed out Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), If the request will cause difficulties for the company, the employer does not need to fulfill all requests.

What is holiday pay?

According to federal law, there is no special name for overtime pay during holidays, and working during the holidays is not considered overtime. Federal law treats a holiday as another working day. In other words, both federal and state laws require most employers to But not all, To pay overtime pay to employees whose working hours meet the standards. This is important if you have particularly extended working hours during the holidays, or if you rely on employees to complete additional shifts.

What is the holiday salary?

If your employees have the right to work overtime, calculating wages can be a bit tricky. The important thing to know is that according to federal law, overtime is calculated weekly. This means that if your employees work more than 40 hours in a week during a typical paid holiday such as Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s Day, they are entitled to a “half hour” for the work time exceeding 40 hours.

In California and some other states, there are also daily overtime standards. If your employees work more than 8 hours in any day, they are entitled to “one and a half hours” for every hour worked over 8 hours. Suppose you are a California company and your employees work for 10 hours on Christmas. State law requires you to pay employees for 2 hours of overtime.

As a bonus, some employers may choose to provide double working hours for employees who work on holidays, which means their normal rate is multiplied by 2.Although the federal government does not require double working hours, California’s dual time rule, It will work if the employee works more than 12 hours on any working day, or if the employee works continuously for more than seven working days.

For more information on overtime requirements, please visit U.S. Department of Labor website or Ask a lawyer.

What is half of time?

The half-time wage is 50% higher than the employee’s normal wage rate. This means that for every hour an employee works overtime, you must add half of their normal salary.

What is double?

Double salary is twice the employee’s normal salary. This means that for every hour of overtime, you will be paid twice the employee’s normal income.

How do I calculate the time half?

To calculate an employee’s half-hour overtime pay, multiply his normal overtime pay by 1.5.

This is an example of overtime calculation. In this example, the employee earns $20 an hour and works 4 hours overtime a week.

Normal hourly pay	$20 per hour
Half an hour per hour	1.5 x USD 20 = USD 30 per hour
Overtime in a week	4 hours
Fixed weekly wage	20 USD x 40 hours = 800 USD
Half-time wage	30 USD x 4 hours = 120 USD
Weekly salary includes half of time	800 USD + 120 USD = 920 USD

Please note that the example calculation above is a pre-tax calculation and is only an example.please Ask a lawyer Or your payroll administrator has detailed information specific to your situation.

What about the holiday pay during the holidays?

According to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), you are not obligated to pay employees for non-working hours-this includes vacations and vacations. Therefore, if your employees take a holiday on Christmas or New Year’s Day, there is no law requiring you to pay their holiday pay.

If your employees are entitled to holiday pay, this will be based on an agreement between you and the employee. Sometimes, before hiring, employees negotiate a certain number of paid vacation days.Although individual agreements should be documented in Employment contract, The best place to record your company regulation is yours Employee Handbook Or in a separate Holiday policy.

If you have other questions about holiday pay, you can Ask a lawyer, Or view more resources employer with employee.