Oklahoma State Holidays
Discover upcoming public holiday dates for Oklahoma and start planning to make the most of your time off.
Oklahoma recognizes the same holidays that the federal government celebrates, including Memorial Day, Labor Day and Veteran’s Day. If a holiday falls on a weekend, the holiday is celebrated either the day before or the day after, depending on which day of the week the holiday falls.
Oklahoma law states that each Saturday and Sunday are considered holidays. In addition, if Christmas falls on a Tuesday, the day before is celebrated as a holiday. If it falls on Thursday, the day after Christmas is also a holiday. Oklahoma also combines Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays on the third Monday in February, celebrating the holiday as President’s Day.
State employees are provided paid holidays. If a state employee is required to work on a holiday, they are entitled to a paid day off on an alternative date or they may request to be paid for the holiday. There are no laws in Oklahoma that require a private employer to offer paid holidays, nor are they required to pay a higher rate of pay if an employee is required to work on a holiday or to give time off at another time if the employee is required to work.
Despite the fact that no law exists requiring such a benefit, many employers do provide paid holidays to employees in Oklahoma. Some may also offer premium pay to encourage employees to work on a holiday.