Your 2027 company holiday calendar needs more than a list of federal dates. Juneteenth, Independence Day, and Christmas fall on weekends, shifting their federal observances to weekdays. New Year’s Day 2028 also affects the schedule: its federal observance falls on Friday, December 31, 2027.
Before you publish your calendar, settle three decisions: how to observe weekend holidays, whether to give a separate Christmas Eve holiday, and how to count December 31. This guide walks through the options, with published employer calendars to help you choose a policy that works for your team.
The 2027 federal calendar has 11 holidays. Three fall on a weekend, so federal employees get the nearest weekday instead. A fourth day, Friday, December 31, 2027, is observed as New Year’s Day for 2028.
The US Office of Personnel Management’s federal holiday schedule for 2027 lists these dates. OPM uses the legal name “Washington’s Birthday” for the February holiday also known as Presidents’ Day.
| Holiday | Date in 2027 | Observed (federal) |
|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Friday, January 1 | Friday, January 1 |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Monday, January 18 | Monday, January 18 |
| Washington’s Birthday (Presidents’ Day) | Monday, February 15 | Monday, February 15 |
| Memorial Day | Monday, May 31 | Monday, May 31 |
| Juneteenth | Saturday, June 19 | Friday, June 18 |
| Independence Day | Sunday, July 4 | Monday, July 5 |
| Labor Day | Monday, September 6 | Monday, September 6 |
| Columbus Day | Monday, October 11 | Monday, October 11 |
| Veterans Day | Thursday, November 11 | Thursday, November 11 |
| Thanksgiving Day | Thursday, November 25 | Thursday, November 25 |
| Christmas Day | Saturday, December 25 | Friday, December 24 |
| New Year’s Day 2028 | Saturday, January 1, 2028 | Friday, December 31, 2027 |
The moves follow one rule in OPM’s 2027 schedule. A Saturday holiday is observed the Friday before, under 5 U.S.C. 6103(b), and a Sunday holiday the Monday after, under Executive Order 11582.
Ten of the 12 observed days create a three-day weekend. The other two, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving, land on a Thursday.
Private employers choose their own paid holidays, because no federal law requires them. As of November 2026, the Department of Labor’s holiday pay page says the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require pay for holidays. Most private industry workers still get them.
In its March 2026 employee benefits release, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 81% of private industry workers had access to paid holidays. At establishments with 1 to 49 workers, the 2026 share was 73%. The BLS average for private industry has held at 8 paid holidays a year since 2016, 2026 included.
So which eight? The BLS holiday profiles from March 2018 break it down holiday by holiday. They show a clear core and a much thinner second tier, as shares of private industry workers with paid holidays:
The “14 paid holidays” you’ll see in searches isn’t a standard. It is more than the 11 federal employees get and well above the BLS average of 8. A practical starting point for a small team is the core six plus two or three second-tier days your team actually wants off.
Pick one written rule for weekend holidays before 2027 starts. The rule decides three dates this year: Juneteenth, July 4, and Christmas. Writing it down now saves you three separate debates later.
| Weekend rule | 2027 days off | Fits |
|---|---|---|
| Federal: Saturday to Friday, Sunday to Monday | Friday, June 18; Monday, July 5; Friday, December 24 | Teams that want to match the federal calendar |
| Monday after, for both | Monday, June 21; Monday, July 5; Monday, December 27 | Teams that need Fridays staffed, or want Christmas Eve on Friday |
| Floating day instead | Each employee picks a day for each weekend holiday | Coverage roles that can’t close on a fixed date |
| No substitute day | None; Juneteenth, July 4, and Christmas stay on the weekend | Teams that accept fewer paid days in 2027 and say so in the handbook |
Employers do split on this. The State of Rhode Island’s 2027 payroll and holiday calendar moves both Saturday holidays to Monday for state employees. Juneteenth moves to June 21 and Christmas to December 27.
The US Postal Service’s 2027 holiday list, as of November 2026, follows the federal row with a twist. Post offices stay open on Friday, June 18 and Friday, December 24, while some employees get the Friday as a holiday for pay and leave.
The last row is legal because no federal law requires a substitute day. Staff still notice when three holidays disappear in one year. If you choose it, say so plainly in the handbook.
Christmas Eve and observed Christmas land on the same day in 2027. OPM’s 2027 schedule gives federal employees Friday, December 24, off for Christmas. A company that gives both days loses one if it copies the federal date.
Take an illustrative handbook that promises 10 holidays, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day included. Copy the federal observed date and both holidays fall on Friday, December 24, so the team gets 9 days instead of 10. Real employers have fixed it three ways in their published 2027 calendars:
The first fix keeps Christmas on the federal date. The second gives a four-day weekend, but your office closes on Monday, December 27, a day that isn’t on the federal list.
One or two floating days solve two 2027 problems at once: the Christmas Eve collision and holidays you don’t close for. Graco Roberts’ 2027 schedule, for example, puts its floater on Friday, July 2, next to observed Independence Day on Monday, July 5.
Write down three things in the policy: who picks the date, how far ahead they ask, and whether an unused floater carries over. A floater that nobody can schedule in December isn’t much of a fix.
Friday, December 31, 2027 is a federal holiday, observed for New Year’s Day 2028. OPM lists it in the 2028 table, not 2027. A list copied from OPM’s 2027 table shows 11 days and misses it.
You have two clean choices:
Either way, say which year the day counts against. Otherwise someone will ask in January whether 2028 now has one holiday fewer.
Use the same 2027 calendar to plan rewards beyond December.
Read the Guide →The federal dates are the easy part of your 2027 list. The three calls around them are what employees will ask about: the weekend rule, Christmas Eve, and December 31.
Settle all three, write them into the handbook next to the dates, and share the final list with whoever runs payroll. Then your team knows every day off for 2027 before the first one arrives.
Let each employee pick from 4,300+ brands, delivered instantly by email or text, or on the date you schedule.
See Holiday Gifts →There is no standard list of 14 paid holidays. Federal employees get 11, and private employers choose their own. In 2026, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that private industry workers average 8 paid holidays.
In 2026, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that private industry workers average 8 paid holidays a year. Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, New Year’s Day, and Memorial Day are the six most often paid.
No, private companies don’t have to give federal holidays off or pay for them. The Department of Labor says the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require holiday pay; it is a matter of agreement between employer and employee. Some federal service contracts set their own holiday requirements.
Christmas Eve is not a federal holiday, so it is paid only if your company chooses to give it. In the Bureau of Labor Statistics holiday profiles from March 2018, 26% of private industry workers with paid holidays received Christmas Eve.
A floating holiday is a paid day off that isn’t tied to a fixed holiday date. Your policy decides which days count and who picks them, and some employers assign the date. Graco Roberts’ 2027 schedule assigns its floater to Friday, July 2, and Lam Research’s sets paid floaters on December 23, 27, and 31.
Part-time employees get holiday pay only if the employer’s policy includes them. In March 2026, Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed paid holiday access for 47% of part-time and 92% of full-time private industry workers.