An early Christmas gift? Feds get extra day off
President Barack Obama signed an executive order Friday that gives federal employees the day after Christmas off.
“All executive branch departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty on Friday, December 26, 2014,” the order says. However, it does give the heads of agencies the right to remain open and require employees to report to work for “reasons of national security, defense, or other public need.”
It’s not the first time that the president has given feds some extra PTO during the holidays.
In 2012, Obama also gave federal employees a four-day weekend when he closed the government on Monday, Dec. 24, the day before Christmas. President George W. Bush also gave federal workers time off before and after Christmas.
On the White House’s We the People website, thousands of people signed a petition this year requesting the president give govies a four-day holiday during Christmastime. However, the petition failed to gather the 100,000 signatures it needed to receive a formal response from the president.
