In 2021, President Biden recognized Juneteenth as a federal holiday and the state of California followed suit last year. But many state workers were on the job Monday, and the Legislature was in session.
So what gives?
The answer, in short, is that Juneteenth is not one of the 11 paid holidays that all state workers have off in California, despite many pronouncements and measures from state officials acknowledging the day’s significance.
Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, a Los Angeles Democrat, last year authored a bill that established Juneteenth — a day that celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S. — as a state holiday. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the measure into law in September 2022 and Monday marked the first time it went into effect:
- Newsom, in a statement: “This year, California is recognizing Juneteenth as an official state holiday for the first time. Because even as Juneteenth exposes our worst demons, it represents our better angels, those who persisted and those who fought for true freedom even in the face of unimaginable injustice and despair.”
The Assembly on Monday also passed a resolution (written by Jones-Sawyer as well) to recognize the holiday as “a day to honor and reflect on the significant role that African Americans have played in the history of the United States.”
In 28 other states, government offices are closed and all state workers have paid time off. In California, by contrast, eligible state workers can take Juneteenth off as one of four days they can designate as their personal holiday.
If they don’t, they’re still expected to work.
Some labor organizations and lawmakers want to change that. SEIU Local 1000, the biggest union for California state workers, is including a proposal to make Juneteenth a paid state holiday in its contract negotiations.
And in the Legislature, state Sen. Steven Bradford, a Democrat from Inglewood, said during Monday’s floor session that legislators should advocate for Juneteenth to be a state holiday that “everyone has off.”
- Bradford: “I would challenge someone, a member of this body, to introduce that measure next year…. Because, again, African Americans had 250-plus years of no days off.”
Perhaps more consequential than whether workers will get Juneteenth off, however, is how the Legislature will vote on reparations. With a July 1 deadline looming, final recommendations from the state-appointed California Reparations Task Force are due any day now. Depending on what measures legislators choose to adopt from the task force’s report, the state could distribute millions of dollars to eligible Black residents and enact policy changes to address racial inequities.
Reparations calculator: CalMatters has created an interactive tool to estimate how much someone might be owed in reparations for slavery and racism. Look it up here, watch a TikTok about it, see it on Instagram and read the full story from Wendy Fry of CalMatters’ California Divide team.
If you have questions on reparations, send an email to Wendy at wendy@calmatters.org.