Some NC employees get Juneteenth off. Here’s who gets a paid holiday
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- Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021 and is observed June 19 each year.
- Juneteenth is not a paid holiday for state employees, the state says.
- Some cabinet and local agencies in North Carolina allow paid Juneteenth observance leave.
While Juneteenth may be a federal holiday, not all employees will be off.
Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, and while all 50 states recognize Juneteenth as holiday or observance, only 31 states designate Juneteenth as a permanent paid holiday through legislation or executive action, according to the Congressional Research Service.
When is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth National Independence Day is held each year on June 19. This year it is being celebrated on Friday, June 19. It has also been called Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day and Black Independence Day.
What does Juneteenth celebrate?
The Emancipation Proclamation ordered all enslaved people in Confederate States to be legally free on Jan. 1, 1863. But the proclamation was ignored in places still under Confederate control, including in Texas.
On June 19, 1865, more than two years since the proclamation, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, and told the more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state they were free, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. That day become known as Juneteenth and celebrated in some African American communities.
It would be the 13th Amendment, ratified in the Constitution in 1865, that would abolish slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a convicted crime.
Do federal holidays apply to private employers?
No, federal holidays only apply to federal employees. However, some private employers do follow federal holiday schedules.
Do North Carolina workers have Juneteenth off?
Juneteenth is not a paid holiday for state employees, according to Kyle Byrnes, spokesperson for the North Carolina Office of State Human Resources.
However, some state employees are able to take the day off.
Former Gov. Roy Cooper signed an executive order allowing some employees to use eight hours of paid “personal observance leave” to essentially add a paid holiday for employees of cabinet agencies, which report to the Governor’s Office, The News & Observer reported.
In his order, Cooper “encourages residents to observe Juneteenth as an opportunity to reflect, rejoice, and plan for a brighter future as we continue to address racial injustices in our society.”
Non-cabinet agencies can use the personal observance leave at the discretion of their agency heads, Byrnes said.
The following agencies have used personal observance leave since 2025:
- Department of Adult Correction
- Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners
- Community College System
- Department of Information Technology
- Department of Administration
- Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
- Department of Commerce
- Department of Environmental Quality
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Insurance
- Department of Justice
- Department of Labor
- Department of Military and Veteran Affairs
- Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
- Department of Public Instruction
- Department of Public Safety
- Department of Revenue
- Department of the Secretary of State
- Department of Transportation
- Eastern NC School for the Deaf
- Governor Morehead School for the Blind
- Office of the Commissioner of Banks
- School for the Deaf
- State Highway Patrol
- Office of State Budget and Management
- Office of State Human Resources
- Office of the Governor
- Office of the State Auditor
- Office of the State Controller
- State Board of Elections
- Statue Bureau of Investigation
- State Ethics Commission
- Wildlife Resources Commission
Do North Carolina local government employees have Juneteenth off?
Several cities and counties have Juneteenth as a holiday, including:
- Raleigh
- Cary
- Wake County
- Durham
- Durham County
- Charlotte
- Mecklenburg County
- Chapel Hill
- Orange County
