BREAKING NEWS
Juneteenth Holiday to Become Law; Observed Tomorrow

Most federal employees will have a paid day off tomorrow, June 18, in the first-ever federal recognition of Juneteenth.

President Biden is scheduled to sign the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. (ET), declaring June 19 a national holiday. The Office of Personnel Management announced that it will be observed this year on the Friday before.

The decision by the federal government to immediately implement the new holiday is a welcome surprise and federal employees should follow their agencies’ human resource office guidance for making any necessary adjustments to time sheets.

NTEU welcomes this recognition of an important and meaningful date in our nation’s history. On June 19, 1865, federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take control of the state and bring the news of freedom to the last enslaved African Americans. The troops’ arrival came a full two and a half years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.