The State of Alabama has designated several days each calendar year as state holidays. The implications of these state holidays on public employers and private employers are discussed below.
The following list contains the state holidays recognized by Alabama.
- New Year’s Day (January 1)
- Robert E. Lee’s Birthday (3rd Monday in January)
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day (3rd Monday in January)
- George Washington’s Birthday (3rd Monday in February)
- Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday (3rd Monday in February)
- Confederate Memorial Day(4th Monday in April)
- Memorial Day (last Monday in May)
- Jefferson Davis’s Birthday (1st Monday in June)
- Independence Day (July 4)
- Labor Day (1st Monday in September)
- Columbus Day (2nd Monday in October)
- Fraternal Day (2nd Monday in October)
- American Indian Heritage Day (2nd Monday in October)
- Veterans’ Day (November 11)
- Thanksgiving Day (4th Thursday in November)
- Christmas Day (December 25)
AL Statute 1-3-8 When any of the listed holidays falls on a Sunday, it is observed on the following Monday. If it falls on Saturday, it is observed on the prior Friday.
Public employers
All Alabama state offices must be closed on the above listed holidays unless they have provided written notice to the State Personnel Board that they will remain open or in the event of an emergency. The State Personnel Board may also grant state offices blanket approval to remain open on holidays on a regular basis if the office provides essential services.
County and municipal offices and public schools must be closed on Veterans’ Day. Primary and secondary public schools covering kindergarten to 12th grade and public two-year institutions of higher education must be closed for all students and non-essential employees on Memorial Day.
Compensatory leave
If a state office remains open on a designated holiday, it must provide its employees with a day of compensatory leave. Employees must try to schedule any compensatory leave receive in the calendar quarter in which it was awarded. If employees are unable to use the compensatory leave in the quarter it was awarded, they must be compensated at a rate that is not less than their usual and customary pay rate for the unused time and their supervisor must explain in writing to the State Personnel Board why the leave was not granted. In lieu of payment, employees may request that the compensatory time be carried past the end of the quarter for up to one year.
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras is a legal holiday in Mobile and Baldwin counties and all state offices must close. Instead of being given a day off on Mardi Gras, state employees who do not work in Mobile and Baldwin counties must be granted one extra personal leave day per year to be used within the calendar year it is given. If employees are not permitted to use the personal leave day within the calendar year, they must be compensated at a rate that is not less than their usual and customary pay rate for the unused time and their supervisor must explain in writing to the State Personnel Board why the leave was not granted.
Private employers
Private employers in Alabama are not required to close on any of the listed holidays. Additionally, private employers are not required to allow employees to take either paid or unpaid time off on the holidays nor are they required to pay employees any premium wage rates to employees who work on the holidays. Private employers may establish policies or practices granting employees time off on any of the listed holidays or agree to pay premium wage rates to employees who work on those days. Employers who establish such policies or practices may be required to comply with them.
Find out more about Alabama’s Leave Laws.
Federal Holidays
Click here for a list of federal holidays.
