Public holidays in United States, 2026

How United States public holidays work in 2026

United States federal holidays are set by Title 5 of the US Code, section 6103, and currently number eleven: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr Day, Inauguration Day (every fourth year, federal employees in the DC area only), Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. These dates bind federal agencies and federal employees only; private employers are not required to observe them. Each state separately legislates its own state holidays, which is why Patriots' Day shuts Massachusetts and Cesar Chavez Day shuts California while neither registers nationally.

Working days in United States

There is no federal definition of a working day for private payroll. The Fair Labor Standards Act regulates overtime by hours worked in a workweek, not by counting business days, and most states default to a Monday through Friday business week with banks closed on weekends and federal holidays. Federal court filing deadlines under FRCP Rule 6(a) exclude Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, and roll forward when the last day lands on one of those. Banking settlement follows the Federal Reserve holiday schedule, which mirrors the federal list but is published separately because the Fed is not a federal agency in the 5 USC 6103 sense.

For people planning cross-border meetings, the practical move is to overlay United States's calendar with the calendars of the other countries on your team. A week that looks completely clear from your end might be a national holiday on theirs. The compare tool above pairs two country calendars and highlights the overlapping closures, so you can spot the weeks where almost no one is at their desk before you put a launch on the board.