Official 2009 U.S. Federal Government Holidays

United States Employees’ Time Off & Days Not on Holiday Calendar

Jun 23, 2009 Lena Gott

See 2009 legal U.S. government holidays & commonly mistaken official time off - July 3rd, November 27th. Days of observance include Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas.

This article discusses the official 2009 federal government holiday calendar as mandated by Congress in the United States Code (Title 5, Section 6103). Also discussed are commonly mistaken legal holidays.

2009 Legal Holiday Calendar for Federal Government Employees

There are eleven official federal government holidays in 2009, per the United States Code. They fall on these days:

January 1, 2009
January 19, 2009
January 20, 2009
February 16, 2009
May 25, 2009
July 4, 2009 (Since this falls on a weekend, many government offices will observe this holiday on July 3rd).
September 7, 2009
October 12, 2009
November 11, 2009
November 26, 2009
December 25, 2009

Most years there are only ten official government holidays. In 2009, January 20th represents a federal holiday that only occurs every four years, Inauguration Day. This was the day President Barack Obama was sworn into office.

Find more about the days off above in the article United States Federal Holidays in 2009.

Confusion About Official Days of Observance in United States

Sometimes, companies in private industry grant employees time off on certain days attached to federal holidays (such as the day before or after, or the Friday or Monday before or after a holiday that falls on Saturday or Sunday), in addition to the holiday itself. This leads to confusion as to which days are actual federal government holidays and which days are simply time off according to company-specific holiday policy.

Here are four days in 2009 that are connected to government holidays but are not officials days off according to the United States Code.

Friday, January 2, 2009 – the day after New Year’s
Friday, November 27, 2009 – the day after Thanksgiving (a.k.a. Black Friday)
Thursday, December 24, 2009 – the day before Christmas
Monday, December 28, 2009 – the Monday following Christmas
Thursday, December 31, 2009 – the day before New Year’s 2010

Travel Plans on Federal Government & Company Holidays

Employees at private organizations may get off of work on the unofficial days noted in the section above pursuant to company policy. Employees commonly elect to take these days off because of travel plans the day before or after a major holiday. Also, some of those days are sandwiched between one or two actual holidays and a weekend, so company management recognizes that many employees would prefer not to work for that one odd day stuck in the middle.

Unfortunately for federal government employees, Congress did not officially recognize the six days above as federal holidays. Those who wish to travel on the work days before or after a federal holiday may have to use vacation days unless another arrangement is in effect (a four day work week, for example).

One caveat to this is holidays that fall on a weekend. When a holiday falls on a weekend, the government commonly grants time off on the Friday before or Monday following the holiday weekend. Government employees should check with their respective agencies for guidance in these situations.

2010 Official U.S. Federal Government Holidays, Post Office Closings

Interested in learning about 2010 federal holidays? The article United States Federal Holidays in 2010 discusses the policy for next year as well as other commonly mistaken federal holidays like Good Friday, Flag Day, and Election Day.

2009 Postal Holidays, U.S. Post Office Closings (USPS)

Resources:

U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Cornell University Law School U.S. Code Collection

The copyright of the article Official 2009 U.S. Federal Government Holidays in American Affairs is owned by Lena Gott. Permission to republish Official 2009 U.S. Federal Government Holidays in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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