Two Federal holidays-Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, Birthday, on Monday, January 17, 2005, and Inauguration Day, on Thursday, January 20, 2005-both fall within the same pay period, which begins on January 9 and ends on January 22, 2005. The pay and leave procedures for these two holidays are addressed below.

Pay and Leave Rules for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, Birthday

The Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., is a legal public holiday for pay and leave purposes for Federal employees. Full-time and part-time employees are entitled to the same pay they otherwise would receive on a regular workday. Those who are regularly scheduled to work on January 17, 2005, are entitled to time off with pay, and those who must work that day are entitled to holiday premium pay. Employees who are not regularly scheduled to work on January 17, 2005, are entitled to a day off in lieu of the holiday.

Employees must be in a pay status or a paid time off status (i.e., leave, compensatory time off, or credit hours) on their scheduled workdays either before or after Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, Birthday in order to be entitled to pay for that day if they do not work.

Pay and Leave Rules for Inauguration Day

Inauguration Day is a legal public holiday for pay and leave purposes for Federal employees in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area only. Holiday pay and leave procedures do not apply to an employee who is on official duty or travel status away from the DC area, even if his or her permanent duty station is in the DC area.

Full-time and part-time employees are entitled to the same pay they otherwise would receive on a regular workday. Those who are regularly scheduled to work on January 20, 2005, are entitled to time off with pay, and those who must work that day are entitled to holiday premium pay. Employees who are not regularly scheduled to work on January 20, 2005, are not entitled to a day off in lieu of the holiday.

Employees must be in a pay status or a paid time off status (i.e., leave, compensatory time off, or credit hours) on their scheduled workdays either before or after Inauguration Day in order to be entitled to pay for that day if they do not work.

Employees on Alternative Work Schedules

Since Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, Birthday and Inauguration Day both fall within the same pay period, the holidays will affect employees who are on alternative work schedules in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. A full-time employee on a flexible work schedule is entitled to 8 hours of pay for each holiday when he or she does not work. However, a full-time employee on a 5/4-9 flexible schedule (or another flexible schedule under which he or she works more than 8 hours a day) must make arrangements to work extra hours during other regularly scheduled workdays (or take annual leave or use credit hours or compensatory time off) in order to fulfill the 80-hour biweekly work requirement. On a holiday, employees on compressed work schedules are generally excused from all nonovertime hours they would otherwise work on that day and which apply to their "basic work requirement." For example, if a holiday falls on a 9- or 10-hour basic workday, the employee's holiday is 9 or 10 hours, respectively.

For Additional Information

For additional information, see OPM's fact sheet at: http://www.opm.gov/oca/worksch/HTML/HOLIDAY.asp. Agency Chief Human Capital Officers and/or Human Resources Directors also may contact their assigned OPM Human Capital Officer for additional information. Employees should contact their agency human resources offices for assistance.

cc: Chief Human Capital Officers
Human Resources Directors