How federal holidays are observed
By Workday Hub. Published October 24, 2026.
When a US federal holiday falls on a Saturday, federal employees get the Friday before off; when it falls on a Sunday, they get the Monday after. The weekday off is called the observed holiday.
Which holidays can move
Six of the 11 federal holidays are always on a Monday or a Thursday: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day and Columbus Day are set to Mondays, and Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November. They never move.
The other five have fixed dates: New Year's Day (January 1), Juneteenth (June 19), Independence Day (July 4), Veterans Day (November 11) and Christmas Day (December 25). Each of these lands on a weekend in some years, and that is when the observed day differs from the holiday itself.
The December 31 case
The Friday-before rule can push a holiday into the previous year. New Year's Day 2028 falls on a Saturday, so it is observed on Friday, December 31, 2027. Anyone counting business days at the end of 2027 needs to skip that Friday, even though the holiday belongs to 2028.
Every shifted holiday from 2024 to 2030
| Holiday | Falls on | Observed on |
|---|---|---|
| Independence Day 2026 | Saturday, July 4, 2026 | Friday, July 3, 2026 |
| Juneteenth 2027 | Saturday, June 19, 2027 | Friday, June 18, 2027 |
| Independence Day 2027 | Sunday, July 4, 2027 | Monday, July 5, 2027 |
| Christmas Day 2027 | Saturday, December 25, 2027 | Friday, December 24, 2027 |
| New Year's Day 2028 | Saturday, January 1, 2028 | Friday, December 31, 2027 |
| Veterans Day 2028 | Saturday, November 11, 2028 | Friday, November 10, 2028 |
| Veterans Day 2029 | Sunday, November 11, 2029 | Monday, November 12, 2029 |
Who the rule applies to
The observed-day rule sets the days off for federal employees, and the official list is published each year by the US Office of Personnel Management: Federal Holidays. Many private employers follow the same pattern, but they set their own holiday policies, so check yours.
The calculators on this site skip the observed day. See the full lists for 2026 and 2027, or count working days around a holiday with the Business Days Calculator.