Article 11 - Holidays

Section 1. Eligibility. All employees in the bargaining unit covered by this Agreement except intermittent, emergency and temporary employees, shall be eligible for purposes of this Article. Connect 700 Program employees shall be considered eligible during their on-the-job demonstration process for purposes of this Article. The Connect 700 Program employee’s holiday hours earned during their on-the-job demonstration process shall not count toward the seven hundred (700) hours. Temporary unclassified employees appointed for periods longer than six (6) months shall be considered eligible for purposes of this Article. Eligible employees appointed to emergency or temporary status from layoff status shall continue to be eligible for purposes of this Article.  

Section 2. Observed Holidays. The following days shall be observed as paid holidays for all eligible employees: 

New Year's Day 

Martin Luther King Jr. Day 

Presidents' Day 

Memorial Day 

Juneteenth 

Independence Day 

Labor Day 

Veterans Day 

Thanksgiving Day 

Day After Thanksgiving 

Christmas Day 

Floating Holiday 

All eligible employees shall receive one (1) floating holiday each fiscal year of the Agreement. The employee must request the floating holiday at least fourteen (14) calendar days in advance. The supervisor may waive the fourteen (14) day advance notice if staffing needs permit. The Appointing Authority may limit the number of employees that may be absent on any given day subject to the operational needs of the Appointing Authority. Floating holidays may not be accumulated or paid off. 

1. Continuous Operations. Except for employees working where seven (7) day a week schedules are in effect, when any of the above holidays fall on a Saturday, the preceding Friday shall be observed as the holiday; and when any of the above holidays fall on a Sunday, the following Monday shall be observed as the holiday. 

Where seven (7) day a week schedules are in effect, the actual holiday shall be observed as a holiday for employees working within such schedule. 

2. Holidays on Days Off. When any of the above holidays fall on an employee's regularly scheduled day off, and the Appointing Authority does not choose to pay the holiday in cash, the employee may choose to receive the holiday as vacation or compensatory time. The employee must be eligible to accrue and use vacation under the provisions of Article 10 in order to choose to receive payment in the form of vacation. 

3. Substitute Holidays. The Appointing Authority may, after consultation with the Association, designate alternate days for the observance of Veterans Day and Presidents' Day. 

Section 3. Holiday Pay Entitlement. To be entitled to receive a paid holiday, an eligible employee must be in payroll status on the normal work day immediately preceding and the normal work day immediately following the holiday(s). Payroll status shall be defined as follows: actually working, on paid vacation, paid sick leave, compensatory time off, or on a paid leave of absence. 

Any eligible employee who dies on a holiday or holiday weekend shall be entitled to be paid for the holiday(s). 

Section 4. Holiday Pay. Holiday pay shall be computed at the employee's regular hourly rate of pay multiplied by the number of hours the employee would otherwise be scheduled to work on the day that the holiday falls, and shall be paid in cash. With the approval of their supervisor, employees may be allowed to arrange their work schedules in payroll periods that include a holiday to avoid any reduction in salary; any modification of an employee’s schedule to accommodate their request shall not obligate the Employer to pay hours at the overtime rate except for hours worked in excess of forty (40) hours in the work week. Eligible employees who normally work less than full-time shall have their holiday pay pro-rated in accordance with the schedule set forth in Appendix B. 

If the Appointing Authority does not choose to pay the holiday in cash, the employee may choose to receive the holiday as vacation or compensatory time. The employee must be eligible to accrue and use vacation under the provisions of Article 10 in order to choose to receive payment in the form of vacation. 

Section 5. Work on a Holiday. At the Appointing Authority’s discretion, any employee who works on a holiday shall be paid in cash at the employee’s appropriate rate for all hours worked in addition to the holiday pay provided for in Section 4 above. 

Section 6. Religious Holidays. In accordance with M.S. 15A.22, any employee who observes a religious holiday on a day that does not fall on a Sunday, a legal holiday, or a holiday listed in Section 2 above, shall be entitled to that day off to observe the religious holiday. Time to observe religious holidays shall be taken without pay except where the employee has sufficient accumulated vacation leave, floating holiday leave, accumulated compensatory time or, by mutual consent is able to make up the time. Employees shall notify the Appointing Authority at least five (5) working days prior to the leave.