Holidays

A. Paid Holiday Calendar

Each spring, Harvard Human Resources publishes a paid holiday calendar for the academic year beginning July 1. Holidays regularly observed by the University are as follows:

New Year's Day (January 1)

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday (Third Monday in January)

Presidents Day (Third Monday in February)

Memorial Day (Last Monday in May)

Juneteenth (June 19)

Independence Day (July 4)

Labor Day (First Monday in September)

Columbus Day (Federal) / Indigenous Peoples’ Day (City of Cambridge) (Second Monday in October)

Veterans Day (November 11)

Thanksgiving (Fourth Thursday in November)

Friday after Thanksgiving

One-half day Christmas Eve day (December 24)

Christmas Day (December 25)

A recognized holiday that falls on a Saturday will normally be observed on the preceding Friday; a holiday that falls on a Sunday will be observed on the following Monday.

The University has Winter Recess during the week between Christmas and New Year. This week is a combination of holiday and paid recess days.

Current Holiday Calendar

B. Essential Personnel

Essential personnel who may be required to work on the specified Winter Recess days may take those days off as personal time at another time during that fiscal year.

C. Working on a Holiday

On some holidays, certain offices or departments will remain open, and employees in those offices may be required to work. Overtime eligible employees required to work on a holiday will be paid for working on the holiday and will be given another day off with pay (based on one-fifth of their normal weekly schedule). This time off may be taken at the convenience of the employee, subject to staffing and workload requirements, and must be taken prior to the beginning of the next fiscal year (July 1).

D. Holiday Policy for Exempt Employees

a) Holidays that Fall Within the Work Schedule

Exempt employees who are normally scheduled to work on a day on which a holiday falls (and do not work that day) will be paid their normal salary for that day. This applies to flex-time and part-time employees as well. (i.e., if an exempt employee works a four-day workweek, and is normally scheduled to work on a day on which a holiday falls and does not work that day, s/he will receive his or her usual pay for that day).

b) Holidays that Fall Outside the Work Schedule

Exempt employees who are not scheduled to work on a holiday will be paid their normal weekly salary for that week and will be allowed to bank a holiday (one-fifth of their regular weekly schedule) for use at another time. This time off may be taken at the convenience of the employee, subject to staffing and workload requirements, and must be taken prior to the beginning of the next fiscal year (July 1).

E. Holiday Policy for Overtime Eligible Employees

a) Holiday Accrual for Part-Time or Flexible Hours Employees

Holiday pay is prorated, as described in Section 1 of this policy.

b) Holidays That Fall Outside the Work Schedule

If the holiday occurs on a day not included in the part-time or flexible hours of an employee's regular schedule, s/he will be allowed to bank the holiday time earned and take the appropriate number of hours off with pay from his/her regular schedule at another time. This time off may be taken at the convenience of the employee, subject to staffing and workload requirements, and must be taken prior to the beginning of the next fiscal year (July 1).

c) Holidays That Fall Within the Work Schedule

If the holiday occurs on a day included in the part-time or flexible hours employee’s regular schedule, s/he will receive the appropriate amount of time off with pay, according to the principle outlined above. If the hours normally worked on the holiday are less than the earned paid holiday time, the additional hours may be taken off at a mutually agreeable time within the fiscal year. If the hours normally worked on the day of the holiday exceed the earned paid holiday time, there are two possibilities:

  • If the workload in the department requires it, the supervisor may ask the employee to make up the additional hours taken off
  • If the workload does not require that the time be made up, the employee may still be allowed to make up the additional hours taken off or s/he may charge them to available vacation, banked compensatory time or personal time

In either of these cases, if additional hours must be made up, this shall occur at a mutually agreeable time within one month of the holiday. For example, an employee who works 17-1/2 hours per week is entitled to 3-1/2 hours of holiday pay per holiday. If such an employee normally works all day (7 hours) on Monday and Tuesday and a half day on Wednesday, then when a holiday falls on a Monday, s/he will receive 3-1/2 hours of paid holiday time and must make up or subtract from other accrued paid time the additional 3-1/2 hours that s/he did not work on that holiday.

F. Other Policies Governing Paid Holidays

a) Holidays During Unpaid Leaves

An employee on an unpaid leave of absence or summer layoff is not entitled to pay for a holiday observed during the leave or layoff, except for a holiday occurring on a Monday if the employee is returning from leave the following day (Tuesday).

b) Holidays During Disability Leave

An employee on Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability or Worker’s Compensation is not entitled to pay for holidays observed during the disability leave.

c) Holidays During Paid Parental Leave

An employee on Paid Parental Leave is entitled to holidays during that leave and may charge the paid time to the holiday. This will not extend the paid Parental Leave beyond the usual four weeks or beyond the 13 weeks following the birth or adoption.

d) Holidays During Sick or Vacation Absences

A holiday that occurs during a vacation period shall be treated as a holiday and will not be charged as a vacation day.

An employee who is on sick pay when a holiday occurs receives regular holiday pay for that day and does not have the day subtracted from the total number of sick days to which s/he is entitled.

e) Holidays Observed before the First Day of Work

A new employee is generally not entitled to pay for any holiday observed prior to his/her first day worked. However, for employees whose appointment dates are based on an academic year or semester, a starting date of the first of the month will be approved even if the month commences on a weekend or holiday

f) Holidays Observed after the Last Day of Work

An employee whose employment terminates for any reason is not entitled to pay for any holiday observed after his/her last day worked, unless the holiday is observed on the last day of the workweek and the employee works the first four days of the workweek.

g) Time Off for Sabbath or Religious Holy Days

The University will reasonably accommodate an employee’s request for time off for Sabbath or religious holy days of the employee, provided that any employee intending to be absent from work when so required by his/her religion shall notify the University not less than 10 days in advance of each such absence and that any such absence from work shall, whenever practicable in the judgment of the University, be made up by an equivalent amount of time at some other mutually convenient time. The employee may choose to have time off charged to vacation or personal time or taken without pay. “Reasonable accommodation,” as used herein, shall mean accommodation to an employee’s religious observance or practice, as shall not cause undue hardship in the conduct of the “business” of the University.

Last updated: 12/10/2020