Paid Holidays in 2026 and 2027: A Guide for Employers

No federal law requires US private employers to offer paid holidays. Most companies offer between 6 and 11 anyway, because time off policies show up fast in hiring and retention numbers.

Below you’ll find which holidays most employers include, the exact dates for 2026 and 2027, how holiday pay typically works for different employee types, and practical steps for building a policy.

What are paid holidays

Paid holidays are company designated days off on which employees receive their regular pay without working. In the United States, there are 11 federal holidays. Federal employees are entitled to all 11 as paid days off, but private employers can choose which holidays to offer, if any, because the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require private companies to pay employees for time not worked, including holidays.

That said, the vast majority of private employers do offer at least some paid holidays. The specific holidays and the number of days vary by company size, industry, and region. For a full breakdown of the legal requirements by state, see our guide to US paid holidays by law.

How many paid holidays do most companies offer

Most US private employers offer between 6 and 11 paid holidays per year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average private sector worker receives about 8 paid holidays annually. The exact number depends on industry, company size, and region.

The 6 most common paid holidays, offered by nearly all US employers, are:

1. New Year’s Day
2. Memorial Day
3. Independence Day
4. Labor Day
5. Thanksgiving Day
6. Christmas Day

Many companies expand this list to 8 by adding:

7. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
8. Presidents’ Day

The 11 federal holidays recognized by US law (5 U.S.C. 6103) are: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Companies that match the full federal schedule offer all 11.

Some employers also offer the Friday after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, or New Year’s Eve as additional paid days off, even though these are not federal holidays.

How many you offer depends on what’s normal in your industry and what companies you compete with for talent are doing. A tech company hiring engineers in a tight market may offer 11 or more. A small retail business might stick with 6.

Paid holidays in 2026

Here are the 11 federal holidays and their observed dates for 2026. When a holiday falls on a Saturday, it is typically observed on the preceding Friday. When it falls on a Sunday, it shifts to the following Monday.

Note that Independence Day in 2026 falls on a Saturday. Most employers observe it on Friday, July 3 instead.

Paid holidays in 2027

In 2027, three holidays shift from their calendar dates: Juneteenth moves to Friday, June 18; Independence Day moves to Monday, July 5; and Christmas moves to Friday, December 24.

How holiday pay works

Federal law does not require private employers to provide holiday pay or premium pay for holiday work. Everything below is company policy, not legal obligation.

Salaried employees

Full time salaried employees typically receive their regular pay on paid holidays without working. If the company designates Christmas Day as a paid holiday, a salaried employee’s paycheck reflects the same amount whether they work that day or not.

If a salaried employee works on a paid holiday, the employer is not required by federal law to pay extra. However, many companies offer compensatory time off or a bonus day as an alternative.

Hourly employees

For hourly workers, holiday pay depends entirely on company policy. Some employers pay hourly employees for the holiday even if they don’t work. Others only pay for hours actually worked. There is no federal requirement to pay hourly employees for holidays they don’t work.

Employees who do work on a paid holiday may receive premium pay, often at 1.5 times or double their regular hourly rate. This practice is especially common in industries that require holiday staffing, such as healthcare, hospitality, retail, and emergency services. Premium pay for holidays is a company decision, not a legal requirement under federal law.

Part time employees

Part time employees may or may not receive holiday pay. Some employers extend paid holidays to part time staff, sometimes on a prorated basis. For example, a part time employee who works 20 hours per week might receive 4 hours of holiday pay rather than the 8 hours a full time employee receives.

Other companies limit paid holidays to full time staff only. If you employ part time workers, include clear eligibility rules in your holiday policy to avoid confusion.

How to build a paid holiday policy

A clear holiday policy prevents misunderstandings and makes staffing and payroll planning easier. The main decisions:

Choose which holidays to observe

Start with the core 6 that most US employers offer: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Then consider whether your workforce and industry norms call for additional days.

Look at what your direct competitors for talent are offering. If every similar company in your market provides 10 paid holidays and you offer 6, that gap will show up in recruiting conversations.

Set eligibility rules

Decide which employees qualify for paid holidays. Common approaches include limiting paid holidays to full time employees, extending them to part time staff after a waiting period (such as 90 days of employment), and offering prorated holiday pay for part time workers based on their average weekly hours.

Define weekend observation rules

Establish a consistent rule for holidays that fall on weekends. The federal standard is to observe Saturday holidays on the preceding Friday and Sunday holidays on the following Monday. Most private employers follow this convention, but you can set your own rule as long as you communicate it clearly.

Consider floating holidays

Floating holidays let employees take a paid day off on a date that matters to them personally, rather than on a fixed company holiday. This approach works well for companies with diverse workforces, as employees can observe religious holidays, cultural celebrations, or personal milestones without using their regular PTO.

A common setup is to offer 1 or 2 floating holidays per year in addition to the company’s standard paid holiday schedule. Employees submit a request in advance, and the manager approves it based on staffing needs.

Communicate the schedule early

Publish your paid holiday schedule at the start of each calendar year. People plan trips and family commitments around these dates, so the sooner they know, the fewer last minute surprises. Include the schedule in your employee handbook and send a company wide reminder in January.

Document your policy

Put everything in writing: which holidays are paid, who qualifies, how weekend holidays are handled, whether premium pay applies for holiday work, and how floating holidays work. A written policy protects both the company and employees when questions arise.

Paid holiday practices around the world

If you have employees outside the United States, paid holiday norms look very different. Four European markets for comparison:

United Kingdom. Full time employees are entitled to 28 days of paid annual leave, which can include the 8 public bank holidays. Part time workers receive a pro rata equivalent. Employers can choose to offer bank holidays as additional days on top of the 28 day minimum, but most include them in the total.

France. French law guarantees a minimum of 5 weeks (30 working days) of paid vacation. On top of that, there are 11 public holidays, most of which employers observe as paid days off. The RTT (Reduction of Working Time) system can provide additional days off, resulting in some employees receiving more than 9 weeks of paid leave per year.

Germany. The legal minimum is 20 paid vacation days for employees working a 5 day week, but most employers offer 25 to 30 days. Public holidays are regulated by individual states and range from 10 to 13 days per year, depending on the region.

Spain. Employees are entitled to 22 working days of paid annual leave. Each of Spain’s autonomous communities can establish up to 14 public holiday days per year. If a national holiday falls on a Sunday, regional authorities decide whether to offer an alternate day off.

If you manage teams across multiple countries, a leave management system with country specific calendars makes it much easier to keep track of who is off and when.

Managing paid holidays with leave management software

Tracking paid holidays in a spreadsheet works for a small team. Once you have people in multiple locations or countries, the manual approach starts breaking.

Leave management software like actiPLANS lets you set up a corporate calendar with all your paid holidays preloaded for the year. You can import holidays by country, which saves time for companies with international teams. Employees and managers can see the full schedule on a shared visual timeline, so everyone knows which days the company is closed and who is available.

actiPLANS also handles the overlap between holidays and PTO. When an employee requests time off during a week that includes a paid holiday, the system excludes the holiday from the PTO balance automatically. You do not need to manually adjust accrual calculations or correct payroll entries after the fact.

If your company uses floating holidays, employees can submit requests through the same system, and managers approve them based on real time team availability.

Start a free 30-day trial of actiPLANS to see how it works, or book a demo if you want a walkthrough with our team.

FAQ

Do employers have to pay for holidays?

No. Under federal law, private employers are not required to provide paid holidays or pay a premium for work performed on holidays. Whether employees receive holiday pay is entirely a company policy decision. However, a small number of states have their own rules. Massachusetts and Rhode Island, for example, require premium pay for work performed on certain holidays. For a detailed breakdown of state requirements, see our guide to US paid holidays by law.

What is a floating holiday?

A floating holiday is a paid day off that an employee can use on any date they choose, rather than on a fixed company holiday. Most employers that offer floating holidays provide 1 or 2 per year. Employees typically use them to observe religious holidays, cultural celebrations, or personal dates not covered by the standard company schedule. More companies are adding floating holidays as a way to give employees flexibility without expanding the fixed holiday calendar.

Can an employer require you to work on a paid holiday?

Yes. In the private sector, paid holidays are a company benefit, not a legal right. Employers can require employees to work on any day, including holidays the company normally observes. To attract volunteers and maintain morale, many companies offer incentives for holiday work: premium pay at 1.5 or 2 times the regular rate, a compensatory day off later, or additional PTO hours. If your company requires holiday work, include the premium pay or comp time rules in your employee handbook so expectations are clear.