Which days do you think should be national holidays?

[The Very Man Himself]

Originally Posted by The Very Man Himself

March and April are the only months that don't have a national holiday. Calendar is filling up.

Not to quote myself but I misspoke. There's no national holiday in August either.

[citizensadvocate]

I always like to question for people's opinion whether should federal, state governments force the private sector to observe holidays just like they do with COVID19 shutdown restrictions. It appears some states such as MA does. Some countries to by forcing them via labor laws to pay triple overtime.

[Rachel NewYork]

Originally Posted by citizensadvocate

I always like to question for people's opinion whether should federal, state governments force the private sector to observe holidays just like they do with COVID19 shutdown restrictions. It appears some states such as MA does. Some countries to by forcing them via labor laws to pay triple overtime.

"The Massachusetts Blue Laws control which businesses may legally operate on Sundays and some legal holidays. Various retail and non-retail businesses are allowed to operate on those days, but some retailers must pay premium pay to workers. Special rules also apply to factories and mills and to the sale of alcoholic beverages."

Added to the above quote from the Massachusetts Government webpage, only retailers with more than seven employees are required to pay their employees extra for holiday work, and Massachusetts is only one of a handful of states that have these laws.

New York State used to have similar Blue Laws (I remember the days when businesses had to be closed on Sundays), but we no longer have these Blue Laws. Private businesses have, for a long time, remained open on legal holidays in New York, and employers are not required to pay employees additional wages for holiday work unless the employees are working overtime.

Every state has different laws which have been enacted or which have long been "on the books" due to support by the residents of those states. Laws can be changed by the voters' representatives. If you have a grievance with Massachusetts's laws and you happen to live there, then it is your right to petition your state and local government representatives to change the laws. If most voters living in your state agree with you, then you may succeed in getting the laws changed. That's one of the many beautiful things about living in the United States of America.