More employers add Juneteenth as a paid holiday this year
The number of private employers offering Juneteenth as a paid holiday for their employees has jumped significantly over the last two years, with nearly one in three private employers now giving their employees the day off in recognition of its historical significance.
Early results from a study by the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans, a nonpartisan group that counts more than 8,200 organizations and 32,000 individuals as members, indicate that 30% of private employers report that they are offering Juneteenth as a paid holiday. This is in addition to the federal employers already providing Juneteenth as a paid holiday to employees.
That’s up from the 8% of private employers who reported offering Juneteenth as a paid holiday in 2020. (At that time, another 17% said they were considering adding it.) Among those organizations that offered the day as a paid holiday in 2020, the majority (96%) were offering it for the first time. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas. It’s viewed as the day slavery ended in the United States.
Momentum for Juneteenth as a company holiday also increases with the day now being a federal holiday. President Biden sign A handful of firms last year added Juneteenth as a company holiday, including Best Buy, National Grid and The Hartford. At that time, many company leaders—including many who offered it for the first time—said observing Juneteenth as a holiday provides important recognition of systemic racism and a chance for employees to reflect. ed Juneteenth into a federal holiday last year, and in the last few months, some cities have followed as well. New York and Los Angeles both designated Juneteenth as paid city holidays. (source: HR Executive)
