Timothy Ford Quoted in Yahoo! Finance Article “You can be legally fired in most states for refusing to work Thanksgiving Day”
November 30, 2021As published by Yahoo! Finance, November 24, 2021
By Alexis Keenan
The holiday season has arrived and while many people are looking forward to days off, a federal holiday is not a given for employees in the private sector.
Timothy J. Ford, a partner at Einhorn Barbarito Frost & Botwinick PC, and a member of the firm’s Employment and Litigation Practice Groups, said that in most cases involving private companies, “Employers are free to select the holidays it seeks to recognize, if any at all.” The only two states requiring paid time off for national holidays are Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
If an employer is outside of those states, local ordinances can still have an impact on their decisions – and employers must always consider time off requests for religious holidays. For federal holidays with no religious affiliation, including Thanksgiving, an employer can legally fire an employee for refusing to work when assigned.
Given the current job market, it’s more likely that employers will allow more leniency with employee time off, with several even offering incentives for employees working during peak holiday times.
