Some NC employees get Juneteenth off. Here’s who gets a paid holiday
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Federal law recognizes Juneteenth as a holiday, but leave varies by state.
- NC cabinet agency employees get paid leave for Juneteenth or alternative days.
- Raleigh, Durham and Charlotte grant Juneteenth as a paid holiday for city staff.
Juneteenth is an annual holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the United States. Its name comes from “June 19th,” as it was this date in 1865 that all enslaved people were informed of their freedom. Juneteenth is also known as Emancipation Day.
Juneteenth, which falls on the same day every year, is a federal holiday. President Joe Biden signed this legislation in 2021.
But this doesn’t mean all government employees across the country automatically get a paid day off.
At least 28 states recognize Juneteenth as an official public holiday, granting state employees a paid off day, according to the Pew Research Center.
In North Carolina, some state government workers are eligible to take the day off using eight hours of personal leave. If they choose to work Juneteenth, they can take another day off instead.
Here’s what to know.
Who gets a paid day off for Juneteenth in NC?
In 2022, then-Gov. Roy Cooper signed an executive order designating an additional paid holiday for select state employees. This was granted to “the Office of the Governor and Cabinet Agencies,” as well as other select state agencies, the order says.
These employees can take off with pay on Juneteenth or another day of their choosing that recognizes “cultural, religious or personal significance.”
Cabinet agencies include the departments of:
- Administration
- Adult Correction
- Commerce
- Environmental Quality
- Health and Human Services
- Information Technology
- Military and Veterans Affairs
- Natural and Cultural Resources
- Office of State Human Resources
- Public Safety
- Revenue
- Transportation
In 2023, other agencies also opted to provide personal observance leave to their employees, NC Office of State Human Resources’ then-communications director Jill Lucas told The N&O at the time:
- All universities in the UNC System
- Secretary of State
- State Bureau of Investigation
- NC Wildlife Resources Commission
- State Board of Elections
- Office of State Controller
- Department of Justice
- Department of Public Instruction
- Community College System Office
- Office of State Auditor
- Industrial Commission
- NC Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners
- Department of Labor
Executive Order 262 provides “up to eight hours of fully paid leave for any single shift or calendar day to eligible state agency employees for a day of observance to use on a day that is important to them, their family or their community,” Lucas said in 2023. Eligible employees can take this leave on Juneteenth, or it can be reserved for another day of religious or cultural importance.
Juneteenth is not included among the NC Office of State Human Resources’ official list of state holidays.
Do city government employees get PTO for Juneteenth?
Yes, Juneteenth is a paid holiday for city employees in Raleigh, Durham and Charlotte, city spokespeople told The News & Observer. This does not impact trash and recycling pickup schedules.
NC’s Juneteenth history
North Carolina first recognized Juneteenth as an observance in 2007. It was the 26th state to do so, according to the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission.
Susanna Lee, an associate history professor at NC State whose work focuses largely on the Civil War and Reconstruction, wrote a blogpost about the history of Juneteenth.
“The arrival of Union troops in Galveston, Texas, in June 1865 put into effect, in the furthest reaches of the Confederacy, President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, issued two and a half years earlier,” Lee wrote. “On June 19, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger issued an order declaring a potentially revolutionary change, one that threatened the long tradition of white supremacy in the South. General Orders No. 3 declared: ‘all slaves are free.’ June 19 is today celebrated as Juneteenth, or Emancipation Day.”
In his executive order in 2022, Cooper encouraged Juneteenth observance “to reflect, rejoice and plan for a brighter future as we continue to address racial injustices in our society.”
Want to celebrate Juneteenth in North Carolina? The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer put together comprehensive lists of events planned to commemorate the holiday in the Raleigh and Charlotte areas.
