Federal Holidays 2027: The Employer’s Calendar

Federal holidays 2027 include a few dates that payroll teams should pay attention to. Three of the eleven holidays land on a weekend. One more, New Year’s Day 2028, falls on a Saturday, so its observed day moves back into December 2027. That gives federal employees twelve observed days off next year, not eleven.

If you manage a team, you need these dates before you publish your holiday policy. This guide lists every federal holiday in 2027 with its weekday and observed date. It also covers which holidays private employers usually give and how holiday pay works. Dates are checked against the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) schedule, November 2026.

Federal Holidays 2027 at a Glance

Dates checked against OPM, November 2026.

OPM uses the name from the law, “Washington’s Birthday,” for the February holiday. Most employers call it Presidents’ Day.

When a Federal Holiday Falls on a Weekend

For most federal employees who work Monday to Friday, the rule is straightforward. A Saturday holiday is observed on the Friday before. A Sunday holiday is observed on the Monday after. OPM applies this to most federal employees, meaning those who work Monday to Friday.

Private employers don’t have to follow it. Copying the federal pattern is still the easiest way to keep a policy clear. Whatever rule you pick, write it down.

Four dates move in 2027: Juneteenth, Independence Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day 2028. Ten of the twelve observed days land on a Monday or a Friday, so most of them give a three-day weekend. Only Veterans Day and Thanksgiving fall on Thursdays.

The Year-End Twist: Two Friday Holidays

Christmas Day is observed on Friday, December 24. New Year’s Day 2028 is observed on Friday, December 31. Staff on the federal calendar work just four days between them, December 27 to 30.

That creates three planning jobs:

• Coverage. Support, logistics and on-call teams need a plan for two long weekends in a row.
• Payroll timing. Confirm cutoff dates for the last pay run of the year with your payroll provider.
• Holiday-year accounting. If you track holidays by calendar year, December 31 uses a 2027 date but belongs to a 2028 holiday. Decide which year it counts toward.

Which Federal Holidays Do Private Employers Usually Give?

No federal law makes a private employer give any of these days off. Many private-sector workers receive paid holidays as part of their benefits. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that 81.0 percent of private industry workers had access to paid holidays in 2025. The average was eight paid days.

Here’s a closer look at which holidays private employers are most likely to include in their paid holiday calendars. The figures come from BLS holiday profiles, which date to March 2018. Treat them as a guide to the pattern, not a current headcount.

Source: BLS, March 2018. Percentages are out of workers who receive paid holidays.

The Core Six

Six holidays are close to standard: Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, New Year’s Day and Memorial Day. Every one sits at 89% or higher. Among workers who receive paid holidays, these six are the most commonly provided days. 

Holidays Employers Often Skip

After the core six, the numbers fall fast. The day after Thanksgiving is the most common extra at 39%. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Washington’s Birthday and Veterans Day are far less common in the private sector. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, after that survey, so it has no figure here. Check what peers in your industry offer.

A floating holiday is one way to cover the gap. Staff pick the day that matters to them, and you avoid closing the whole business.

Choosing Your List

Once you’ve chosen the six common holidays, consider a few things before adding more days to your calendar: 

1. What do competitors for your talent offer?
2. Which teams can’t close, and what will coverage cost?
3. Do customers expect you to be open?
4. What does the day cost in wages?

That last one is easy to estimate. Say you have 25 hourly employees paid $22 an hour. One paid 8-hour holiday costs $4,400 in wages for time not worked. The core six cost $26,400 a year. (Illustrative figures. Use your own rates.)

Holiday Pay Basics for Employers

The U.S. Department of Labor says the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require payment for time not worked, such as holidays, federal or otherwise. It adds that these benefits are generally a matter of agreement between employer and employee.

So there are two separate questions. Do you pay people for the day when they don’t work? And do you pay extra when they do? The FLSA generally requires neither. Your policy answers them, subject to overtime rules and any applicable contract or state requirements.

Paid Time Off vs. Working a Holiday

If someone works a holiday, employers usually pick one of three approaches:

• Normal pay only. The day is paid like any other shift.
• Premium pay. A multiplier on the hours worked, often 1.5 times.
• Pay plus a day in lieu. The employee is paid for the shift and gets another day off.

Pick one and put it in the handbook. Vague policies cause the most payroll disputes.

A Quick Pay Example

Take an hourly employee paid $20 who works an 8-hour shift on a holiday:

Overtime works the usual way. Hours worked on the holiday count toward the 40-hour weekly threshold. Suppose someone works 36 regular hours and an 8-hour holiday shift. That is 44 hours worked, so 4 are overtime. Hours you pay for but nobody works generally don’t count toward the 40. Qualifying premium payments for work on holidays may be excluded from the regular rate used to calculate overtime, if they meet the FLSA requirements. 

For quick numbers, try WebWork’s free holiday pay calculator. Pick your country, enter the pay and hours, and see the figure.

Rules That Can Change the Answer

• Your own promises. If offer letters, the handbook or a union agreement promise paid holidays, treat them as commitments.
• Federal contracts. The Labor Department notes that Service Contract Act and Davis-Bacon wage determinations can require holiday pay for covered workers.
• State and local rules. Some states add their own requirements. Check your state labor department before you set policy.

How to Build Your 2027 Holiday Calendar

Work through it in this order:

1. Choose your list. Core six first, then extras.
2. Set the weekend rule. Decide how a Saturday or Sunday holiday is observed.
3. Set pay rules. Premium pay, normal pay or time in lieu for people who work holidays.
4. Plan coverage. Give teams that can’t close their own schedule.
5. Publish in December. Staff plan to take leave around long weekends, so share the dates early. 
6. Match it to payroll and leave balances. One holiday list should feed both.

How WebWork Helps You Manage Holidays

Spreadsheets break when teams sit in different places or work different days. WebWork’s employee holiday management feature handles this. Set each holiday once, and mark it as a non-working day. If you pay for the day, add the paid hours. Apply it to the whole workspace or to selected teams.

Managers can also use these settings to keep holiday schedules consistent across teams: 

• WebWork‘s bot sends a reminder on WebWork Chat or Slack two days ahead. You write the message text yourself.
• Holidays you set aren’t counted against leave balances when staff request time off.
• Attendance isn’t counted on non-working days. Members can still track time if you allow it in workspace settings.
• Essential staff can sit in their own team with different non-working days. The same works for teams in other countries.

Holiday management, leave management and PTO tracking come with every plan. Prices checked November 2026, billed yearly:

Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial and no credit card. See the full list on the WebWork pricing page.

For a short look at WebWork’s leave and holiday tools, see the HR tools update. If payroll is your next question, the guide on moving from time logs to paychecks covers it.

Frequently Asked Questions About Federal Holidays 2027

How many federal holidays are there in 2027?

OPM lists 11 federal holidays for 2027. New Year’s Day 2028 falls on a Saturday, so it is observed on Friday, December 31, 2027. That gives federal employees 12 observed days off in the calendar year.

Which 2027 federal holidays are observed on a different day?

Four. Juneteenth moves from Saturday, June 19 to Friday, June 18. Independence Day moves from Sunday, July 4 to Monday, July 5. Christmas Day moves from Saturday, December 25 to Friday, December 24. New Year’s Day 2028 moves from Saturday, January 1, 2028 to Friday, December 31, 2027.

Is there any need for private companies to be closed or paid on federal holidays?

Not at all. The FLSA does not require employers to pay employees for unworked time, such as holidays. Paid holidays, however, are a function of agreement between the employer and the employees. Contract, union, federal contract and even state laws may affect such agreements.

Are employers required by law to pay employees for working on federal holidays?

Federal law does not require employers to provide extra pay simply because someone works on a holiday. However, overtime rules still apply, and a contract or applicable state or local law may set additional requirements.

Final Thoughts

The dates are the easy part. The harder choices are which days you give, how weekend holidays work and what you pay people who cover them. Settle those in December, write them down and load them into one system. Sharing the calendar early gives employees time to plan their leave and helps payroll teams prepare for the year ahead.