Holiday pay not required by law, but policies still must comply with FMLA

Q Would it be noncompliant to require employees to work both the day before and the day after a holiday to receive holiday pay? Also, would it break any pay laws not to provide holiday pay to an employee who calls out sick before a holiday?

Although holiday pay is a common benefit employers provide, neither federal law nor Idaho law requires holiday pay. Accordingly, unless contrary to an employment contract or a collective bargaining agreement, there’s no legal prohibition to a requirement that your employees work both the day before and the day after a holiday to be eligible for the holiday pay.

Many holiday pay policies will allow an employee to still receive holiday pay if vacation days are used for the day before and/or the day after but not for an employee calling out sick the day before a holiday. However, these policies are still subject to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and wouldn’t apply to an employee requiring leave for a serious health condition. So, if the employee was eligible to use a vacation day while working, they must be allowed to use the vacation day to entitle them for the holiday pay during the protected leave.