An increasing number of employers across the country, large and small, observed Juneteenth, June 19, as a paid company holiday. It seems likely that employers focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives have helped to establish the holiday as a company benefit.

According to one private-sector survey almost 40 percent of employers nationwide now offer June 19 as a paid holiday. That is a more than fourfold increase since the law was first adopted in 2021 and indicative of a strong upward trend in recognition of the holiday. The holiday was recognized by only 9 percent of employers followed by 33 percent of employers celebrating the holiday last year.

Massachusetts first commemorated Juneteenth in 2007 as a state day of recognition and made it an official state holiday as of 2021.

The number of private employers offering the day as a paid holiday is in addition to federal employers that are required to provide the day as a holiday to their employees.

Juneteenth—a combination of the words “June” and “nineteenth”—commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas. It is viewed as the day slavery ended in the United States.

Although the day has been celebrated for several decades, especially in the African American community, momentum for its recognition grew during the past couple of years following the death of George Floyd and the subsequent proliferation of the Black Lives Matter movement. These events likely contributed to Massachusetts adopting Juneteenth as a state holiday in July 2020.

On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed a law declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday— the first national public holiday created since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.

Juneteenth is one of the few state holidays that moves across the calendar because it is celebrated on a specific date, similar to Veteran’s Day on November 11, rather than on a Monday as are many other holidays. Juneteenth was Monday this year and will be Tuesday next year. For retail employers there is no longer a need to pay any premium paid associated with the opening on Juneteenth.

AIM produces an annual holiday calendar that notes the impact that holidays have on the ability of businesses to open, and any special provisions regarding employees’ pay. The calendar is available at the AIM store.

AIM members interested in discussing this or any other human-resources questions may contact the AIM helpline at 1-800-470-6277.