1712 - Holiday Guidance (Historical View)

** Effective: 7/3/2026 1:20:00 PM - 7/3/2026 1:20:42 PM **

Status: Active

Change Notes

Authority updated: update

Category

Compensation

Audience List

Synopsis

This policy:

Introduction

This policy provides charts in the reference section which illustrates holiday leave provisions provided by Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), policy, and statute for full-time employees in Bargaining Units 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and for all excluded employees in both Work Week Group (WWG) 2 and WWG E/SE.

Statement

This clarifies state policy with respect to three areas of concern: (1) duplicative holiday credit as a result of the state’s automated pay systems; (2) duplicative holiday credit and pay for hours worked on a holiday; and (3) when holiday pay is subject to retirement deductions.

Duplicative Holiday Credit

Eligible employees required to work on observed state holidays are entitled to receive compensation in accordance with their collective bargaining agreement and/or applicable State regulations. Holiday credit is a form of compensation eligible employees may be entitled to receive. The amount of holiday credit (i.e., number of hours) depends upon the employee’s time base when the holiday credit is earned.

When calculating the number of hours of holiday pay or credit earned by an employee who works on a holiday, departments must include any holiday credit automatically posted by the State Controller’s Office (SCO) in the California Leave Accounting System (CLAS) or by departments in another leave accounting systems to avoid duplicative accruals. One example where this occurs is when a holiday falls on a Saturday: SCO will automatically post in CLAS holiday credit in lieu of Saturday Holiday hours for eligible full-time and part-time employees.

This policy reminds departments that the SCO will automatically include regular pay in a negative pay employee’s pay warrant for a holiday that falls on a workday (see SEIU exemption below).

As a general reminder, departments with employees in multiple bargaining units should immediately review their current policies/practices and any relevant MOU provisions in addition to this policy.

Reportability of Holiday Pay

Holiday pay must be reported to CalPERS in accordance with the specific requirements identified in CalPERS Circular Letter (CL) 200-037-24. CalPERS details the different holiday pay reporting requirements for classic members and for Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) members in the CL. Holiday pay is an item of special compensation for classic members, and an item of pensionable compensation for PEPRA members. Typically, this additional compensation is for employees who earn holiday pay or credit because they work in positions that require scheduled staffing without regard to the holiday. Reportability of holiday pay or credit depends on a variety of requirements described in CL 200-037-24. For example, pursuant to the CL, holiday pay is not reportable where an employee picks up an extra shift or swaps for a shift that is not part of the employee’s normal work schedule.

Please refer to CL-200-037-24 to determine the reportability of holiday pay or credit for classic members and for PEPRA members. More information regarding reportable compensation can be found in the California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 571 (a)(5) and 571.1(b)(4).

Application

Refer to the applicable charts in the reference section below for guidance on keying the relevant transactions. The chart provides illustrations for both WWG 2, and where applicable, WWG E/SE employees. The charts are intended to supplement and not replace existing MOUs and Government Codes, therefore CalHR recommends referring to each appliable MOU when processing holiday compensation.

Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

A full-time negative pay employee who is represented by SEIU and works on a holiday must accrue 8 hours of holiday credit earned for the day on the timesheet, regardless of the number of hours worked. A negative pay WWG 2 full-time employee who works less than 8 hours on the holiday is required to utilize leave credits to account for the hours not worked. This is because the employee accrues 8 hours of holiday credit earned, in addition to receiving 8 hours of pay in their warrant. To offset the deficit in hours worked for the day leave credits must be utilized. This application applies to all time bases; however, accruals and usage are prorated based on the time base.

Managers, Supervisors, and other “Excluded” Employees

Effective January 1, 2025, Government Code section 19853 was amended to provide additional compensation to excluded employees, for time worked on specified holidays. Excluded employees who are required to work on January 1, the last Monday in May, July 4, the first Monday in September, Thanksgiving Day and December 25, shall receive the following compensation in accordance with their eligibility under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). These holidays will be referred to as “premium holidays” for purposes of this policy and the guidance charts linked below.

Calculating Overtime Compensation When a Premium Holiday and Overtime are Worked During the Same Work Week

For the purpose of computing the number of hours worked, time when an employee is excused from work (because of holidays, sick leave, vacation, annual leave, compensating time off, or any other leave) shall not be considered as time worked by the employee for the purposes of computing cash or compensating time off for overtime. To determine how this applies to represented employees, departments should reference the applicable MOU.

“Premium time” is defined as the one-half rate paid in addition to the employee’s regular hourly rate. Excluded WWG 2 employees who work a premium holiday and work overtime during the same work week, shall have the premium time paid for the specified premium holiday applied toward any premium time compensation during the same work week. This is referred to as shared time, where the premium portion of the holiday is shared or satisfies the premium overtime requirement for the same number of hours during the same work week.

Example: An excluded WWG 2 employee’s regular work schedule is Monday through Friday, eight hours each day. Monday is a premium holiday, and the employee is required to work their normal 8-hour shift. The employee does not take any time off that workweek. The employee also works an 8-hour overtime shift on Saturday. The employee is entitled to the following:

Note: Since the employee had already been compensated for time and a half or premium time for the premium holiday that Monday, they were not entitled to time and a half for the eight hours worked on that Saturday. Thus, the employee was paid eight hours of straight time. For excluded WWG 2 employees, the premium time paid for the premium holiday satisfies the premium time earned for the workweek (i.e. the 8 hours worked on Saturday).

In the example above, if the employee worked a regular (not premium) holiday, the employee would receive time and a half for Saturday. 

As a general reminder, for represented employees you must refer to the Holiday article and overtime section of the applicable MOU to ensure the holiday and overtime during the same work week are paid correctly. 

Holiday Compensation and the State Controller’s Office (SCO) Payroll System Earnings Identifiers (EID)

The SCO Payroll Procedures Manual (PPM) provides EIDs for holiday compensation. Transactions staff must use the correct EID when keying holiday pay, ensuring that the appropriate EID is used based on whether holiday pay is subject to pers deductions.

In situations where provisions allow sharing the premium holiday compensation with overtime, the appropriate holiday compensation EID is used to issue pay. Overtime beyond the shared hours is paid using the appropriate overtime EID.

The below key considerations may help determine whether the EID with pers deductions should be used.

Key Considerations

The reportability of holiday pay depends primarily on the following factors:

  1. Employee Status: The employee must be in a position that requires staffing without regard to the holiday.
  2. Work Schedule: The holiday pay must be for services rendered during normal working hours on an approved holiday.

In addition to these key considerations, refer to applicable sections of the SCO PPM to determine which EID may apply.

Additional Information

For all employees, holiday credit hours may be used immediately after they are earned; employees do not have to wait until the following pay period to use the holiday credit hours.

If any provision in this policy or illustration is in conflict with a provision of an applicable MOU, the MOU shall control.

Authorities

Resources

Forms

Web Pages

Authorized By

Melissa Russell
Chief, Personnel Management Division

Contact Person

Personnel Services Branch
Personnel Program Consultant, , Personnel Services Branch
Phone: 916-909-3702
Fax: 916-327-1886
Email: psb@calhr.ca.gov

Superseded Policies

Not Applicable.