Juneteenth: State reps want private employers to offer paid holiday to employees (2024)

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Monday, June 20, is the federally-celebrated Juneteenth holiday that this year fell on a Sunday.

It's not a paid holiday for everyone.

When President Joe Biden signed the law last year that made Juneteenth a paid federal holiday, most Americans -- 62 percent -- knew little or nothing about the holiday. This year, that's down to 40 percent, and for some it's a paid holiday, too.

Duquesne University's chief diversity officer, Crystal McCormick Ware, is not surprised many Americans are unfamiliar with Juneteenth.

"It's not subject matter that has been integrated into our normal history books," Ware said. "It's been omitted for a while. And it took me to learn about Juneteenth through family folklore."

According to the Pew Research Center, 24 states, including Ohio and West Virginia, have legislatively made Juneteenth an official paid state holiday.

In Pennsylvania, while it is an official state holiday, Gov. Tom Wolf also has negotiated with state unions to make it a paid day off.

Some lawmakers say it's time to get all public and private employers to recognize Juneteenth with a paid day off.

"It's beyond time," Rep. Aerion Abney, D-Manchester, said. "It's definitely past time. We've got a lot of issues and priorities to focus on in Harrisburg. This is a simple one."

Added Rep. Martell Covington, D-Homewood: "There are a lot of companies that have started to observe the holiday, so we'd really like to encourage companies throughout the state to begin to observe Juneteenth as a paid state holiday."

Private employers in Pennsylvania are free to do what they wish with the holiday, and a few do offer a paid holiday to their employees. That number has grown over the last year.

Counties and local governments also are free to do what they wish.

Allegheny County offices, for example, are closed to the public, but county workers may be working depending on their union contracts. The county has not added an additional paid holiday to the calendar.

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