Columbia Holidays ordinance (§ 19-121)

Following local and national custom in order to allow city employees to celebrate certain holidays by having a day off work without loss of pay, the following provisions shall apply:

(a) Permanent employees shall be entitled to the following designated paid holidays:

(1) New Year's Day, January 1;

(2) Memorial Day, the last Monday in May;

(3) Independence Day, July 4;

(4) Labor Day, the first Monday in September;

(5) Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November;

(6) Christmas Day, December 25.

(b) Permanent employees shall be entitled to the following paid holidays:

(1) Martin Luther King, Jr., on the third Monday in January;

(2) Juneteenth, June 19;

(3) The day after Thanksgiving;

(4) Veterans Day, November 11.

Rather than time off, fire department shift employees shall receive additional compensation in the amount of eleven and one-quarter (11.25) hours at their regular pay for these four (4) days. Permanent part-time employees shall receive holiday pay on a prorated basis. All other permanent employees shall receive time off or their regular compensation in accordance with the terms of this section.

(c) Permanent employees, upon completion of twelve (12) continuous months of service, shall be entitled to four (4) floating holidays per fiscal year and granted on October 1st of each year. Newly hired permanent employees shall have these four (4) floating holidays prorated for the remainder of the fiscal year following their first twelve (12) continuous months of service.

(1) Upon leaving city service, an employee shall be reimbursed for accrued floating holidays, provided that in the case of resignation, required notice has been given. (See section 19-202.)

(2) An employee may accrue a maximum of ten (10) floating holidays. An employee shall receive pay at the regular rate at the end of each fiscal year for each hour of floating holiday which the employee would have accrued if the maximum accrual limit had not been established.

(3) Floating holiday leave must be requested at least two (2) calendar days in advance. Exceptions to this provision may be granted by an employee's supervisor.

(4) In order to ensure fire department constant staffing requirements are met, employees of the fire department may not take floating holiday hours unless approved, in advance, by the department head, or duly authorized representative. If a request to use floating holiday hours is denied, the employee may be paid in lieu of such leave at the regular rate of pay during the next regular pay period. This subsection shall not apply to unclassified positions or civilian employees in the fire department.

(d)

Overtime eligible employees shall be eligible for a holiday only when they are in pay status the entire working day or shift preceding and following the holiday.

(e) Holiday leave shall not be combined with other leaves or other forms of paid absence to increase the compensation due when a holiday occurs. Employees shall not take compensatory time off or vacation leave on a holiday or a day that is treated as a holiday pursuant to this section. If an employee is on sick leave or injury leave on a holiday or a day treated as a holiday pursuant to this section, the employee shall not be charged with or paid for sick leave or injury leave, but rather shall be paid only for the holiday.

(f) It is the purpose of this section to provide overtime eligible employees with a day off work without loss of pay rather than an extra day's pay when the employee must work. Acknowledging that some employees must work on days treated as holiday, the following rules apply to overtime eligible employees:

(1) All non-shift employees shall take off the exact date of a designated holiday, except that if the holiday falls on Saturday employees shall take off the preceding Friday and if the holiday falls on Sunday employees shall take off the following Monday.

(2) When the holiday falls on any shift employee's regularly scheduled day off, the holiday shall be treated as though it had fallen on the next scheduled work day.

(3) Overtime eligible employees, other than fire department shift employees, whose normal job or shift does not ordinarily, but because of unique circumstances may, require a performance of duty on a holiday shall be paid eight (8) hours pay at their regular rate for the holiday plus be paid time and one-half (½) for all hours worked on the holiday.

(4) Overtime eligible employees, other than fire department shift employees, whose normal job or shift requires performance of work on holidays shall be paid eight (8) hours pay at their regular rate for the holiday and in addition be paid at the regular rate for all hours worked within their regular working hours. For all hours worked outside of regularly scheduled working hours, overtime rates shall apply.

(5) Fire department shift employees required to work on a holiday or a day treated as a holiday shall be paid for the holiday as provided for in this section and in addition be paid at the regular rate for all hours actually worked within their regular working hours.