Advisory Memorandum No. 2005-04

Section 21.1 Holidays - August 2005

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TO: All State Agencies
FROM: Terry Jordan, Director Staffing Services Division
SUBJECT:Christmas Day 2005 and New Year's Day 2006 Holiday
Observance

Christmas Day, December 25, 2005 and New Year’s Day, January 1, 2006, fall on Sunday this year and under the provisions of the General Construction Law are observed as legal holidays in New York State on Monday, December 26, 2005 and Monday, January 2, 2006, respectively. However, contract provisions for certain bargaining units provide that when Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fall on Sunday, employees for whom that day is a regularly scheduled work day will observe the holiday on Sunday instead of Monday.

Holiday compensation provisions for certain bargaining units authorize holiday compensation (holiday pay or holiday leave) for work on the Christmas Day holiday at the time and one-half rate when the date of observance of that holiday is December 25. The Christmas time and one-half rate does not apply when the Christmas Day holiday is observed on December 26.

Because different provisions apply to different bargaining units, the following discussion is organized by bargaining unit.

Rent Regulation Services Unit, Managerial/Confidential Employees

Date of Holiday

For employees in the Rent Regulation Services Unit and those designated Management/Confidential, the Christmas Day holiday will be Monday, December 26, 2005 and the New Year’s Day holiday will be Monday, January 2, 2006.

Employees in the Rent Regulation Services Unit and those designated M/C are not subject to contract or rule provisions authorizing either a Sunday or Monday observance date for the Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays when these holidays fall on Sunday. Absent such special provisions, the General Construction Law governs and the holidays are observed on Monday.

Rate of Holiday Compensation

Holiday compensation (holiday pay or holiday leave) for work on December 26 and January 2 is at the straight time rate. Such employees will not receive any holiday pay or holiday leave for time worked on December 25 and January 1.

Although M/C employees are eligible for holiday compensation (holiday pay or holiday leave) at the time and one-half rate for work on Christmas Day, that provision only applies when Christmas Day is observed on the actual holiday, December 25. Therefore, it does not apply to the 2005 Christmas Day holiday which is observed on Monday, December 26.

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Administrative Services Unit, Institutional Services Unit, Operational Services Unit, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services Unit, Security Services Unit, Security Supervisors Unit, Agency Law Enforcement Services Unit

Date of Holiday

For employees in these units, the day designated as the Christmas and New Year’s holiday depends upon the employee’s regular work schedule on Sunday, December 25 and Sunday, January 1. For purposes of this discussion, a “regularly scheduled workday” means that the employee is normally scheduled to work on that day as part of his/her basic 37.5 or 40 hour workweek. It does not mean a day that is scheduled as the employee’s pass day on which the employee is scheduled or directed to work on an overtime basis.

For employees in these units for whom Sunday is a regularly scheduled pass day, the Christmas Day holiday will be Monday, December 26, 2005, and the New Year’s Day holiday will be Monday, January 2, 2006.

For employees in these units for whom Sunday is a regularly scheduled workday, the Christmas holiday will be Sunday, December 25, 2005 and the New Year’s Day holiday will be Sunday, January 1, 2006.

Rate of Holiday Compensation

ASU, ISU, OSU, PS&T
Employees in these units for whom the holiday is December 25 and who are required to work on that day are eligible to receive holiday compensation (holiday pay or holiday leave) at the time and one-half rate. Employees in these units for whom December 26 is the Christmas holiday and who are required to work on that day are eligible to receive holiday compensation (holiday pay or holiday leave) at the straight time rate.

Since there is no provision for payment of holiday compensation (holiday pay or holiday leave) at the time and one-half rate for work on New Year’s Day, employees who receive holiday pay for work on either a January 1 or a January 2 New Year’s Day holiday will receive such pay at the straight time holiday rate.

SSU, SSpU, ALES
Employees in these units are not covered by Christmas time and one-half rate holiday compensation provisions. Therefore, holiday compensation (holiday pay or holiday leave added to vacation) for work on the Christmas Day and the New Year’s Day holidays is at the straight time rate, regardless of the date of the holiday.

Notification to Employees
It is recommended that employees in the ASU, ISU, OSU, PS&T, SSU, SSpU and ALES units be notified as far in advance as possible about which holiday observance date applies to each of them (December 25 or December 26 and January 1 or January 2 respectively). Once that determination is made, an employee’s entitlements to holiday benefits are determined in the same manner as they would be for any other holiday. The key is to remember that each employee is entitled to only one day as a Christmas holiday and one day as a New Year’s holiday.

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In the case of shift operations, holiday shifts must be designated for all four possible observance dates.

After the date of the employee’s holiday has been established based on the regular work schedule, the attached chart may be useful in determining the actual holiday benefit entitlement for employees in these units. Please note the assumptions listed at the top of the chart; the chart is designed to cover the “typical” situations which may arise and does not cover every possible circumstance which may occur.

Further Information
It should be noted that the last time these holidays fell on Sunday was Christmas Day 1994 and New Year’s Day 1995. The relevant contract provisions for those holidays were set forth in Manual Advisory Memo 94-02, Christmas Day 1994 and New Years’ day 1995 Holiday Observance, dated November 1994. For further background information on these contract provisions, agencies may also refer to the following memos:

Memo	Date	Subject
OER Memo 88-06	July 22, 1988	1988-1991 Institutional Services Unit Agreement
OER Memo 88-07	July 22, 1988	1988-1991 Operational Services Unit Agreement
OER Memo	October 6, 1988	1988-1991 State/PEF Agreement Article 12, Attendance and Leave
Attendance & Leave Manual Policy Bulletin 88-01	November 14, 1988	Christmas Day 1988 and New Year’s Day Holiday Observance
Attendance & Leave Manual Policy Bulletin 89-01	March 1, 1989	1988-1991 Negotiated Agreements: Administrative Services, Institutional Services, Operational Services, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, Rent Regulation Services, Security Services and Security Supervisors Units
OER Memo	February 9, 2001	Implementation of Negotiated Agreement 1999-2003 with NYSCOPBA
Attendance & Leave Manual Policy Bulletin 2002-01	January 22, 2002	Attendance and Leave Items in 1999-2003 Negotiated Agreements with NYSCOPBA and Council 82
Attendance & Leave Manual Advisory Memo 2004-05	November 2004	Summary of recent changes in Holiday Leave Benefits

Questions and requests for background memos should be referred to the Attendance and Leave Unit of the Department of Civil Service at (518) 457-2295.

Chart of Holiday Benefit for Christmas Day 2005 and New Year's Day 2006(75KB) [pdf]

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