Alex Peebles Reporter

Agencies, companies scramble after Juneteenth holiday bill signing

Jun 18, 2021

Alex Peebles Reporter

By Alex Peebles (Reporter), Ben Burke (Producer)

President Biden’s signing of a bill making Juneteenth National Independence Day the latest federal holiday Thursday has left federal agencies and private companies scrambling to offer the day off for employees.

The bill establishes June 19 as the holiday. Since that falls on a Saturday this year, federal employees are getting Friday off.

As for companies, Nike will close its retail stores and distribution centers Saturday.

Other corporations, like Target, Starbucks and T-Mobile, will stay open. But they will offer holiday pay to their employees.

Since private companies are not required to honor federal holidays, the decision to take holidays off or offer holiday pay is up to each individual company.

For more on the history of Juneteenth, check out Jimmie Johnson’s story here.

Tags: Society at Large

Gwen Baumgardner: PRESIDENT BIDEN SIGNED A BILL INTO LAW, MAKING JUNETEENTH A FEDERAL HOLIDAY. HE SAYS “ALL AMERICANS CAN FEEL THE POWER OF THIS DAY”.
THE HOLIDAY CELEBRATES WHEN UNION SOLDIERS BROUGHT THE NEWS OF FREEDOM TO SLAVES IN GAVELSTON TEXAS — TWO MONTHS AFTER THE CONFEDERACY SURRENDERED.
THE BILL ESTABLISHES JUNE 19TH AS THE HOLIDAY. THOUGH SINCE IT FALLS ON A SATURDAY THIS YEAR, FEDERAL WORKERS GET *TODAY OFF.
IT’S A QUICK TURNAROUND FROM THE BILL’S SIGNING.. SO NOW GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND SOME PRIVATE COMPANIES ARE SCRAMBLING TO OFFER THE DAY OFF FOR THEIR EMPLOYEES.
SOME MAJOR CORPORATIONS LIKE TARGET, STARBUCKS, AND T-MOBILE WON’T CLOSE, BUT WILL OFFER HOLIDAY PAY TO THEIR EMPLOYEES.
NIKE IS CLOSING DISTRIBUTION CENTERS *AND RETAIL STORES TOMORROW.
SO WILL YOU GET THE TIME OFF *NEXT YEAR?
IT DEPENDS ON YOUR COMPANY…AS THEY’RE NOT REQUIRED TO HONOR FEDERAL HOLIDAYS.
FOR MORE ON THE HISTORY BEHIND JUNETEENTH — CHECK OUT JIMMIE JOHNSON’S PIECE BY CLICKING THE LINK BELOW.