Federal holiday pressures companies to provide Juneteenth off

The declaration of Juneteenth as a federal holiday is putting the pressure on more U.S. companies to give their employees your day off, accelerating a movement that became popular this past year in response to the racial justice protests that swept the country.

A huge selection of top companies had already pledged this past year to see Juneteenth in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd and the national reckoning on racism that followed.

But most private companies take their cues from the federal government - the country's major employer - in drawing up their holiday calendars. President Joe Biden signed legislation Thursday establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday commemorating the finish of slavery, following passing of a bipartisan Congressional bill. A lot more than 800 companies have publicly pledged to see Juneteenth, according to HellaCreative, several Black imaginative professionals in the SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA Bay Area that launched a campaign last year to build corporate support to make the June 19th the official holiday. That is practically double the amount of companies that had joined the pledge this past year.

Patagonia, the outdoor apparel retailer, announced that of its U.S. stores will be closed Saturday, and its own corporate offices will be closed Monday. Other brands, including Target, J.C. Penney and Best Buy had pledged last year to look at Juneteenth as a paid holiday, though they are keeping stores open. Several major banks have said employees will receive a floating paid day off.

Many companies, however, had little time to shuffle their holiday calendars. Some offered employees a normal paid day off or promised to consider adding it with their calendars next year.