Posted on 12/19/2018 5:38:04 AM PST by Kaslin
President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that gives federal employees the day off on Christmas Eve.
“All executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty on Monday, December 24, 2018, the day before Christmas Day,” the order says.
Certain offices may need to be open, however, to carry out responsibilities related to "national security, defense, or other public need," according to the order.
“The heads of executive departments and agencies may determine that certain offices and installations of their organizations, or parts thereof, must remain open and that certain employees must report for duty on December 24, 2018, for reasons of national security, defense, or other public need,” the order continues.
Past presidents have also given federal workers the day off.
While Christmas Day is a federal holiday, giving federal employees additional time off has been inconsistent for different presidents.
Christmas fell on a Monday last year, but there was no extra day off for workers.
In 2012, former President Barack Obama excused federal employees from duty on Christmas Eve when it fell on a Monday. In 2014, he closed the federal government on the day after Christmas Day. The following year, workers were given a half day on Christmas Eve.
Former President George W. Bush did give workers the day off on Christmas Eve in 2001 and in 2007when it landed on a Monday. (Fox 5)
.@WhiteHouse has issued an Executive Order providing for the closing of Executive Departments and Federal Agencies on December 24: https://t.co/EAdBJnikZr— OPM (@USOPM) December 19, 2018
I think most private sector companies give it off, but certainly not all.
We live 700 miles from family so I always save a few vacation days to take the whole time off. From what I understand, the office is pretty much a skeleton crew of new employees and those who don’t save the time between Christmas and New Years.
Because it’s such a wasted work day anyway, I don’t see the problem.
My son works as a contract employee in the space industry working at a government facility. He’s off but I’m not sure if it’s a holiday or vacation day.
Frankly, nothing will be accomplished at all between December 21-Jan 2. In offices Ive worked in the past, its goof off time. Long lunches, holiday parties, gift exchanges. In a lot of fed offices its always goof off time anyway.
My department had out Christmas party last week. We met at a restaurant and had a gift exchange. The Dept. VP then said to go home and take the rest of the day off.
I’m the only one who works from home. The rest are cubicle bound and I had some stuff I needed to do at the office afterward not related to any of them, so I didn’t get my free afternoon.
Ahhhh, salary life.
I bet the USPS has to work :)
This has been customary for decades. If Christmas falls on a Tuesday, the President will usually give Christmas Eve off. If a Thursday, December 26.
??????? Care to explain that one?
_______
... sounds reasonable.
I work from home too, I would of gone fishing.
The reality is that they’re not doing any work on Christmas Eve, anyway.
Thought about it but the office is a 35 mile drive and I didn’t feel like doing it again.
Not a big deal and I get my free time in anyway when I’m not on the road.
What are Federal workers/public sector union workers gonna do when their jobs start being done by automation/robots? Holidays will be a non-consideration then.
I think there should be 20.
I think 4-day work weeks should be the norm.
Convince me I'm wrong.
If we're going to give $10.8 billion to Mexico, I want more days off to spend with my family or to just sit around the house scratching my ass.
understandable, I would of done the same if I was close by.
Not all govt employees are laggards. Some of us worked our asses off in spite of the lazy bastards around us.
After reading all the comments, all I can say is...
Lighten up, Francis!
I am happy for them, and think it is a nice gesture from the President.
While most fed employees are democrats and few will thank him for it, it is nice, it’s Christmas, and Scrooge was changed by three spirits overnight.
Let us all be so noble.
I’ll bet all the non-essentials were bummed that the shutdown was averted. There goes that impromptu paid vacation for the holidays. I guess this makes up for that in part.
Wait-does that include the Post Office?
Well thank goodness he’s working on important stuff like federal holidays instead of the border and immigration. *EYEROLL*
Amen! An awful lot of pent up anger from commenters considering the time of year. Take a few days off, have a hot chocolate and some ginger bread cookies, maybe some whiskey in the coffee. Allow for a self attitude adjustment. Merry Christmas!
They haven’t updated their website to say it is a federal holiday. It looks like they will continue to deliver on Monday. It does say to check your local post office hours because they may vary.
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