INSIGHTi
Juneteenth National Independence Day: A
New Federal Holiday
July 1, 2021
On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed S. 475, the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, into
law. S. 475 passed the House of Representatives on June 16 and the Senate on June 15. The House
companion measure was H.R. 1320. The act amends Section 6103(a), Title 5 of the United States Code to
designate June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day. In past Congresses, legislation was
introduced to create a federal holiday and the House and Senate also agreed to resolutions honoring
Juneteenth.
Juneteenth
On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger of the Union Army issued General Order No. 3 in
Galveston, Texas. The order announced to the people of Texas that the Emancipation Proclamation’s
freeing of enslaved people in the Confederate states was in effect. Specifical y, General Order No. 3
stated:
The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a Proclamation from t he Executive of
the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights
of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between
them, becomes that between employer and hired labor. The Freedmen are advised to remain at their
present homes, and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at
military posts; and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.
Since the issuance of General Order No. 3, the observance of Juneteenth on June 19 has evolved. Today,
49 states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation recognizing Juneteenth as a holiday or
observance (see CRS Report R44865, Juneteenth: Fact Sheet, by Erin M. Smith, Table 1. States that
Commemorate or Observe Juneteenth).
Federal Holidays
With the enactment of S. 475 and the creation of the Juneteenth National Independence Day, the United
States now has 12 permanent federal holidays, codified at 5 U.S.C. §6103. They are, in the order they
appear in the calendar, New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, Inauguration Day (every four
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
IN11697
CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress
Congressional Research Service
2
years following a presidential election), George Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth
National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving
Day, and Christmas Day. Although frequently cal ed public or national days, these observances are only
legal y applicable to federal employees and the District of Columbia, as the states individual y decide
their own legal holidays (see 5 C.F.R. §610.202). According to the Office of Personnel Management
(OPM), for the public holidays codified at 5 U.S.C. §6103, “full-time employees who are not required to
work on a holiday receive their rate of basic pay for the applicable number of holiday hours.”
The first four federal holidays were created in 1870, when Congress granted paid time off to federal
workers in the District of Columbia for New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and
Christmas Day. In 1880, George Washington’s Birthday was added. In 1941, Congress specifical y
designated the fourth Thursday of November as the official date for the observance of Thanksgiving. Prior
to that time, Thanksgiving was recognized either on the third or fourth Thursday of November.
Since 1888, Congress has added seven federal holidays, creating Decoration Day (now Memorial Day) in
1888, Labor Day in 1894, Armistice Day (now Veterans Day) in 1938, Inauguration Day in 1957
(quadrennial y and only celebrated in the District of Columbia), Columbus Day in 1968, Martin Luther
King Jr.’s Birthday in 1983, and Juneteenth National Independence Day in 2021. Further, in 1968, the
Uniform Monday Holiday Act was enacted to “provide for uniform annual observances” of Washington’s
Birthday (referred to as Presidents’ Day by many states and municipalities), Memorial Day, and Veterans
Day. Additional y, the Monday Holiday Law established Columbus Day to be celebrated on the second
Monday in October. In 1975, Congress returned the Veterans Day observance to November 11.
For more information on federal holidays, see CRS Report R41990, Federal Holidays: Evolution and
Current Practices, by Jacob R. Straus.
Author Information
Jacob R. Straus
Specialist on the Congress
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role.
CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United
States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However,
as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the
permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
IN11697 · VERSION 1 · NEW