Holiday FAQs

source: IRWeb

Q1. What type of compensation am I entitled to for work performed on a holiday?
A1. Holiday pay is an employee’s rate of basic pay plus premium pay compensation equal to that rate of basic pay. This equates to double-time pay for hours worked within the employee’s normal scheduled tour of duty (TOD). Hours worked outside the scheduled TOD are paid at the overtime rate plus the rate of basic pay for the holiday.

Q2. How do I post holiday hours worked in SETR?
A2. Organization Function Code (OFP) 990-59503, Holiday, is posted in SETR with time code 1 for regular hours or time code 3 for night pay differential (for duty hours between 6 p.m. – 6 a.m.). For hours worked on the holiday, post the appropriate work OFP code with time code 7 for legal holiday worked.Note: A pop-up has been added in Time Entry to alert users when posting hours under 990-59503 (holiday) in pay periods where there is no holiday.

Q3. Are part-time employees paid for the holiday if the holiday falls on their day off?
A3. No. There is no in-lieu-of holiday (ILOH) for part-time employees. Part-time employees are entitled to receive pay for a holiday when the Federal holiday is observed on a day they would be required to work. Part-time employees who are excused from work on a holiday receive their rate of basic pay for the hours they are regularly scheduled to work on that day. For example, a part-time employee who is regularly scheduled to work from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. on Mondays will receive 4 hours of basic pay if Monday is a Federal holiday.

Q4. Am I entitled to night pay differential for the holiday if my TOD falls between the hours of 6:00 p.m. – 6:00 a.m.?
A4. Yes. You are compensated as though you were at work.

Q5. Am I entitled to Sunday premium pay if I am scheduled to work on Sunday and the holiday falls on a Sunday?
A5. No. You must actually perform work on a Sunday to be compensated at the Sunday premium pay rate.

Q6. Are seasonal employees who return to duty (RTD) the day following a Federal holiday entitled to pay for the holiday?
A6. Generally yes, if the holiday falls on the day immediately before the RTD date and the employee was prevented from working solely because of the occurrence of a legal public holiday. (See 5 USC 6104.)

Q7. Are seasonal employees entitled to the holiday if furloughed the last workday before a legal holiday?
A7. No. Seasonal employees released from duty the last workday before a holiday due to the non-availability of work are not entitled to compensation for the holiday. This is because they were not prevented from working solely because of the holiday. Further, seasonal employees released from duty the last workday before a holiday due to the non-availability of work may not use annual leave to take them through the holiday in order to get paid for the holiday. (See Comp.Gen. B-193821.)

Q8. Are new hires with an enter-on-duty (EOD) date following the Federal holiday entitled to compensation for the holiday?
A8. The answer depends on the employee’s appointment effective date. If a new employee has an appointment effective date (as reflected on the SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action) after the holiday and EOD’s and takes the oath of office the day following a holiday, he or she would not be entitled to pay for the holiday as he or she was not an IRS employee on the holiday. However, if the new employee’s appointment effective date (as reflected on the SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action) is before the holiday with EOD and the oath taking place the day following the holiday, then he or she would be entitled to pay for the holiday.

Q9. Will I receive pay for the holiday if I request LWOP or if I am charged AWOL on days surrounding the holiday?
A9. Employees must be in a pay status or a paid time-off status (i.e., leave, compensatory time-off, compensatory time off for travel, or credit hours) on their scheduled workdays either the day before or the day after a holiday in order to be entitled to their regular pay for that day. They must be in a pay or paid time-off status immediately before or immediately after the holiday. The fact that an employee is in pay status on at least one of the days surrounding the holiday establishes a basis to presume that the employee would have reported for duty but for the holiday (45 Comp. Gen. 291 and 56 Comp. Gen. 393).

Q10. I am a full-time employee on an alternative work schedule (AWS) and the holiday falls on my regular day off. Do I get an in-lieu-of holiday (ILOH)?
A10. Yes. 5 USC 6103 and Executive Order 11582 authorize ILOH’s for full-time employees when a holiday falls on a non-workday. An ILOH is authorized only for a holiday designated in 5 USC 6103(a). However, for Washington, DC, area employees eligible for the Inauguration Day holiday, an ILOH is not authorized when Inauguration Day falls on a regularly scheduled non-workday.

Q11. What day becomes my in-lieu-of holiday (ILOH) if I work an alternative work schedule (AWS) tour of duty and the holiday falls on my regular day off?
A11. When a holiday falls on a non-workday outside a full-time employee’s basic workweek, the day to be treated as his/her holiday is the workday immediately before the non-workday unless the holiday falls on Sunday – then the next workday is the holiday. This guidance applies to all full-time employees, including those on irregular work schedules (other than Monday through Friday).

Q12. Are intermittent employees entitled to pay for the holiday?
A12. No. Intermittent employees do not have a regularly scheduled tour of duty and, therefore, are not entitled to pay for the holiday.

Q13. Am I entitled to overtime/compensatory time off if I work on the holiday?
A13. Hours worked outside the scheduled TOD on a holiday are paid at the overtime rate plus the basic rate of pay for the holiday. Work performed within the regularly scheduled TOD on a holiday is compensated at the rate of basic pay plus premium pay compensation equal to that rate of basic pay; this equates to double-time pay for hours worked.

Q14. Am I entitled to pay for state or local holidays?
A14. State and local holidays are not holidays within the meaning of 5 USC 6103(a). Therefore, no ILOH is authorized when a state or local holiday occurs on an employee’s regularly scheduled non-workday.

Q15. If I am required to travel on a Federal holiday, or an in-lieu-of holiday (ILOH), am I entitled to earn compensatory time off for travel?
A15. Although most employees do not receive holiday premium pay for time spent traveling on a holiday or ILOH, an employee continues to be entitled to pay for the holiday in the same manner as if the travel were not required. Thus, employees may not earn compensatory time off for travel during basic (non- overtime) holiday hours because they are entitled to their rate of basic pay for those hours. An employee may earn compensatory time off for travel only for time spent in a travel status away from the employee’s official duty station when directed by management and such time is not otherwise compensable.