"The recognition of the stain of slavery and slavery in the United States and the work that needs to be done - I mean, it should be followed by many, many organizations," she says. And she hopes the federal holiday, although not mandatory for most workplaces, inspires companies to follow suit. Nunez says marking Juneteenth is only one of many steps a company should take toward greater equity and equality. And she says she's not sure if that would have happened without the state and federal recognition. ![]() Jones says that the top leaders of the University of Alabama, Birmingham have committed to recognizing the holiday in years ahead, although the details are still being worked out. ![]() The stock exchanges remain open for this year, although they may reevaluate in the future.Īnd many other organizations, while not embracing the holiday this year, have indicated plans to work it into their calendars in the years ahead. Many big banks say they'll start observing the holiday next year, and in the meantime, they're are offering employees a floating day off to use sometime this year. Now that a federal holiday has established, many companies that have so far declined to observe the holiday may change course. More workplaces may observe the holiday in years to come "You really have to be meaningful and authentic in order to be impactful." "It should be a paid holiday and not just a check-the-box holiday added to your calendar," says Nunez, whose organization began observing Juneteenth as a paid day off last year. Rosa Nunez, the director of diversity, equity and inclusion at the law firm Foley Hoag, argues that nodding to the holiday without paid leave is insufficient. AT&T held internal events recognizing the holiday but also encouraged people to use their existing leave to take Juneteenth off. Google is not giving people the day off but is encouraging them to cancel meetings. Other companies say they're recognizing Juneteenth without actually observing it. For others, like Starbucks and Best Buy, locations will remain open, but employees receive extra pay for working. Juneteenth Companies Making Juneteenth A Paid Holiday Say It's The Right Thing To DoĪ Mercer survey released on June 3 found that 9% of surveyed companies planned to observe Juneteenth as a holiday in 2021 - the same percentage as planned to observe Columbus Day/Indigenous People's Day, a long-established federal holiday.įor some businesses - notably Nike - observing Juneteenth means actually closing retail establishments. "There just was not enough time to plan and prepare to announce and implement this holiday appropriately," Alesia Jones, the head of human resources at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, told NPR. Stanley Black & Decker announced late Thursday that it would take Friday off for "hope and healing" and would honor the new federal holiday in future years as well.īut many others stuck with their previous plans, saying it was just too tough to declare a day off without more warning. But a small number of businesses acted swiftly to observe the holiday - even with just a few hours' notice. įederal holidays aren't mandatory for businesses in the U.S. ![]() Businesses and nonprofits aren't required to close, and some had to swiftly decide whether to pivot. There was no consistent strategy: For instance, Baltimore City schools closed, while Baltimore County schools stayed open. Similarly, school districts that usually honor federal holidays had to individually decide whether to stay open on Friday, or shut with very little notice to families. Some federal courts shut down, but not all did. Postal Service remained open, expressing support for the holiday but saying that it is "not possible to cease the operations of the Postal Service" with just 24 to 48 hours to plan for it. Many "nonessential" government offices did shut down.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |