This Regulation governs the observance of holidays by employees in full-time equivalent (FTE) positions.

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All employees in FTE positions shall be allowed to observe with pay those holidays listed in Section 19-708.02.

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1. State Holidays

New Year's Day                                           January 1

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day                           Third Monday in January

George Washington's Birthday/                     Third Monday in February
President's Day

Confederate Memorial Day                            May 10

National Memorial Day                                 Last Monday in May

Independence Day                                       July 4

Labor Day                                                   First Monday in September

Veterans Day                                              November 11

Thanksgiving Day                                        Fourth Thursday in 
                                                                 November

Day after Thanksgiving                                Friday Following
                                                                Thanksgiving

Christmas Day                                           December 25

Day after Christmas                                    December 26

(S.C. Code Ann. § 53-5-10)

2. Holidays Declared by the Governor

The Governor is empowered to declare Christmas Eve of each year a holiday for State employees. If the Governor declares Christmas Eve a holiday in a year that Christmas Eve falls on Saturday or Sunday, the holiday shall be observed on the preceding Friday. (S.C. Code Ann. § 53-5-20)

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1. Holidays are to be taken on the prescribed day unless the agency requires the employee to work. The agency shall give employees who must work on holidays prior notice if possible.
   

2. When a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it shall be observed on the preceding Friday or the following Monday, respectively, by employees working a Monday through Friday schedule. (S.C. Code Ann. § 53-5-30)  Employees scheduled to work on a Saturday or Sunday that is a holiday shall observe the actual holiday or receive holiday compensatory time in accordance with Section 19-708.04. (S.C. Code Ann. § 8-11-50)
   

3. Employees in FTE positions who do not work a normal Monday through Friday workweek shall receive no more nor any fewer number of holidays than those employees who work the normal Monday through Friday workweek. (S.C. Code Ann. § 8-11-50)
   

4. The length of an employee’s holiday is computed based on the number of hours in the employee’s average workday. To determine the number of hours in a holiday, divide the total number of hours an employee is regularly scheduled to work during a week by five (regardless of the number of days the employee actually reports to work).
   

5. When a holiday falls during a period of leave with pay, that day will be counted as a holiday, not as a day of leave.
   

6. Employees who are on leave without pay shall not be paid or receive holiday compensatory time for holidays falling during this period of leave without pay.
   

7. The holiday schedules of public colleges and universities, including technical colleges, shall not be in violation of this Section so long as the number of holidays provided in this Section are not exceeded. (S.C. Code Ann. § 53-5-10)

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1. An employee, except an employee of an agency following a academic schedule, who is required by the agency to work on a holiday shall be given holiday compensatory time at the convenience of the agency in which employed within 90 days of such holiday. (S.C. Code Ann. § 8-11-50)
   

2. An employee of an agency which follows an academic schedule who is required by the agency to work on a holiday shall be given holiday compensatory time at the convenience of the agency in which employed within one year from the date of the holiday. (S.C. Code Ann. § 8-11-50)
   

3. An employee who must work a portion of the holiday due to a shift that begins on one day and ends on another shall be granted holiday compensatory time equal to all hours worked on the holiday.
   

4. All nonexempt employees who are not allowed to take holiday compensatory time earned for working on a holiday within the 90-day period, or the one-year period in the case of employees who follow academic schedules, shall be compensated for the holiday by the employing agency at the straight hourly pay rate of the employee. Exempt employees shall not be paid for unused holiday compensatory time. An agency may submit a request to the Office of Human Resources (OHR) for an extension for an additional 90 days because of limited staffing. (S.C. Code Ann. § 8-11-50)
   

5. All nonexempt employees shall be compensated for all holiday compensatory time upon separation from employment. Exempt employees shall not be paid for unused holiday compensatory time upon separation of employment.
   

6. Holiday Compensatory Time Record

Records shall be maintained for all employees who receive holiday compensatory time. Information contained in the record must include:

1. Compensatory time earned and used in terms of hours; and
   

2. The number of hours per week the employee is normally scheduled to work and the employee’s average workday.

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