Section 16. Holidays
16.1 Eligibility
Regular full-time employees in established positions shall be entitled to take all authorized holidays at full pay, not to exceed eight (8) hours for any one (1) day, provided they are in a full pay status on both their regularly scheduled workdays immediately preceding and following the holiday. Part-time employees shall be entitled to holiday pay in proportion to the average percentage of full-time hours worked during the two (2) pay periods immediately preceding the pay period which includes the holiday. If two or more holidays fall on succeeding or alternate pay periods, then the average full-time hours worked in the two (2) pay periods immediately preceding the first holiday shall be used in determining the holiday pay entitlement for the subsequent holiday.
16.2 Holidays
The holidays for the County are:
- January 1 (New Year’s Day)
- Third Monday in January (Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday)
- Third Monday in February (Washington’s Birthday)
- Last Monday in May (Memorial Day)
- June 19 (Juneteenth)
- July 4 (Independence Day)
- First Monday in September (Labor Day)
- Second Monday in October** (Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day)
- November 11 (Veterans Day)
- Fourth Thursday in November (Thanksgiving Day)
- Friday following Thanksgiving Day
- December 25 (Christmas)
- Every day appointed by the President of the United States or the Governor of the State of California to be a day of public mourning, thanksgiving, or holiday. The granting of such holidays shall be discretionary with the Board of Supervisors.
** Effective February, 2001, the Lincoln’s Birthday holiday was eliminated and replaced with a floating holiday (8 hours of holiday time) which will accrue on February 12. The floating holiday may be used starting in the first pay period that begins after February 12th.
If the legislature or the Governor appoints a date different from the one shown above for the observance of one of these holidays, then San Mateo County shall observe the holiday on the date appointed by the Legislature or the Governor.
16.3 Holiday Falling on a Sunday
If one of the holidays listed above falls on Sunday and the employee is not scheduled to work that day, the holiday will be observed on Monday.
In County facilities where there is 24-hour per day coverage, employees in those facilities, and Park Rangers working 7-day per week coverage, shall observe holidays on the actual day of the holiday.
16.4 Holiday Falling on Employee’s Regular Day Off
If any of the holidays listed above falls on a day other than Sunday and the employee is not regularly scheduled to work that day, or if an employee is required to work on a holiday, the employee shall be entitled to equivalent straight time off with pay. This equivalent straight time off earned is limited to 120 hours with any time earned in excess of 120 hours cashed out at the equivalent straight time rate. If an employee leaves County service with accrued hours, those hours will be cashed out.
16.5 Hours Worked on a Holiday
Employees working on a holiday shall be compensated for such time worked at the rate of one and one‑half (1 ½) times the straight-time rate as provided in Section 7 Overtime.