Nonlegal state holidays

AN ACT Relating to celebrating Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Guru 1
Nanak, Guru Gobind Singh, and Vaisakhi; reenacting and amending RCW 2
1.16.050; and creating a new section. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that many religious 5
minorities are living in increased fear and isolation and are victims 6
of increased incidents of bias and hate. Recognizing important 7
holidays is one way to help communities feel seen, valued, and 8
respected. At a time in which there is increased hate speech and more 9
attacks on religious groups, saying that Washington is a home for 10
all, and that we value and respect you and your community's 11
contributions, is more important than ever. By expanding the list of 12
nonlegal state holidays, the state helps recognize and celebrate the 13
many faiths, heritages, and cultures of Washingtonians.14
Sec. 2. RCW 1.16.050 and 2025 c 58 s 1001 and 2025 c 30 s 1 are 15
each reenacted and amended to read as follows: 16
(1) The following are state legal holidays: 17
(a) Sunday; 18
(b) The first day of January, commonly called New Year's Day;19
S-3669.1
SENATE BILL 5950
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators Cortes, Alvarado, Braun, Dhingra, Hasegawa, Liias,
Nobles, Riccelli, Salomon, Stanford, and Valdez
Prefiled 12/29/25. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee
on State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections.
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(c) The third Monday of January, celebrated as the anniversary of 1
the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr.; 2
(d) The third Monday of February, to be known as Presidents' Day 3
and celebrated as the anniversary of the births of Abraham Lincoln 4
and George Washington; 5
(e) The last Monday of May, commonly known as Memorial Day;6
(f) The nineteenth day of June, recognized as Juneteenth, a day 7
of remembrance for the day the African slaves learned of their 8
freedom; 9
(g) The fourth day of July, the anniversary of the Declaration of 10
Independence; 11
(h) The first Monday in September, to be known as Labor Day;12
(i) The eleventh day of November, to be known as Veterans Day;13
(j) The fourth Thursday in November, to be known as Thanksgiving 14
Day; 15
(k) The Friday immediately following the fourth Thursday in 16
November, to be known as Native American Heritage Day; and17
(l) The twenty-fifth day of December, commonly called Christmas 18
Day. 19
(2) Employees of the state and its political subdivisions, except 20
employees of school districts and except those nonclassified 21
employees of institutions of higher education who hold appointments 22
or are employed under contracts to perform services for periods of 23
less than twelve consecutive months, are entitled to one paid holiday 24
per calendar year in addition to those specified in this section. 25
Each employee of the state or its political subdivisions may select 26
the day on which the employee desires to take the additional holiday 27
provided for in this section after consultation with the employer 28
pursuant to guidelines to be promulgated by rule of the appropriate 29
personnel authority, or in the case of local government by ordinance 30
or resolution of the legislative authority. 31
(3) Employees of the state and its political subdivisions, 32
including employees of school districts and those nonclassified 33
employees of institutions of higher education who hold appointments 34
or are employed under contracts to perform services for periods of 35
less than twelve consecutive months, are entitled to two unpaid 36
holidays per calendar year for a reason of faith or conscience or an 37
organized activity conducted under the auspices of a religious 38
denomination, church, or religious organization. This includes 39
employees of public institutions of higher education, including 40
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community colleges, technical colleges, and workforce training 1
programs. The employee may select the days on which the employee 2
desires to take the two unpaid holidays after consultation with the 3
employer pursuant to guidelines to be promulgated by rule of the 4
appropriate personnel authority, or in the case of local government 5
by ordinance or resolution of the legislative authority. If an 6
employee prefers to take the two unpaid holidays on specific days for 7
a reason of faith or conscience, or an organized activity conducted 8
under the auspices of a religious denomination, church, or religious 9
organization, the employer must allow the employee to do so unless 10
the employee's absence would impose an undue hardship on the employer 11
or the employee is necessary to maintain public safety. Undue 12
hardship shall have the meaning established in rule by the office of 13
financial management under RCW 43.41.109. 14
(4) If any of the state legal holidays specified in this section 15
are also federal legal holidays but observed on different dates, only 16
the state legal holidays are recognized as a paid legal holiday for 17
employees of the state and its political subdivisions. However, for 18
port districts and the law enforcement and public transit employees 19
of municipal corporations, either the federal or the state legal 20
holiday is recognized as a paid legal holiday, but in no case may 21
both holidays be recognized as a paid legal holiday for employees.22
(5) Whenever any state legal holiday: 23
(a) Other than Sunday, falls upon a Sunday, the following Monday 24
is the legal holiday; or 25
(b) Falls upon a Saturday, the preceding Friday is the legal 26
holiday. 27
(6) Nothing in this section may be construed to have the effect 28
of adding or deleting the number of paid holidays provided for in an 29
agreement between employees and employers of political subdivisions 30
of the state or as established by ordinance or resolution of the 31
local government legislative authority. 32
(7) The legislature declares that the following days are 33
recognized as provided in this subsection, but may not be considered 34
legal holidays for any purpose: 35
(a) The fifth day of January, commonly known as the birth of the 36
tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh;37
(b) The eleventh day of January, recognized as human trafficking 38
awareness day; 39
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(((b))) (c) The thirteenth day of January, recognized as Korean 1
American day; 2
(((c))) (d) The date corresponding with the second new moon 3
following the winter solstice, or the third new moon following the 4
winter solstice should an intercalary month intervene, recognized as 5
the lunar new year; 6
(((d))) (e) The twenty-sixth day of January, recognized as 7
Washington army and air national guard day; 8
(((e))) (f) The nineteenth day of February, recognized as civil 9
liberties day of remembrance; 10
(((f))) (g) The ninth day of March, recognized as Billy Frank Jr. 11
day; 12
(((g))) (h) The thirtieth day of March, recognized as welcome 13
home Vietnam veterans day; 14
(((h))) (i) The thirty-first day of March, recognized as Cesar 15
Chavez day; 16
(((i))) (j) The ninth day of April, recognized as former prisoner 17
of war recognition day; 18
(((j))) (k) The tenth day of April, recognized as Dolores Huerta 19
day; 20
(((k))) (l) The fourteenth day of April, commonly known as the 21
birth of Guru Nanak;22
(m) The fourteenth day of April, commonly known as the birth of 23
Khalsa, commonly known as Vaisakhi;24
(n) The sixteenth day of April, recognized as Mother Joseph day;25
(((l))) (o) The fifteenth day of May, recognized as water safety 26
day; 27
(((m))) (p) The twenty-seventh day of July, recognized as 28
national Korean war veterans armistice day; 29
(((n))) (q) The seventh day of August, recognized as purple heart 30
recipient recognition day; 31
(((o))) (r) The fourth day of September, recognized as Marcus 32
Whitman day; 33
(((p))) (s) The fourth Saturday of September, recognized as 34
public lands day; 35
(((q))) (t) The second Sunday in October, recognized as 36
Washington state children's day; 37
(((r))) (u) The twelfth day of October, recognized as Columbus 38
day; 39
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(((s))) (v) The seventh day of December, recognized as Pearl 1
Harbor remembrance day; 2
(((t))) (w) The eighteenth day of December, recognized as blood 3
donor day; 4
(((u))) (x) The first day of the tenth month of the Islamic 5
calendar, which is lunar-cycle based and shifts by approximately 10 6
to 11 days each year, commonly called Eid al-Fitr; ((and7
(v))) (y) The tenth day of the twelfth month of the Islamic 8
calendar, which is lunar-cycle based and shifts by approximately 10 9
to 11 days each year, commonly called Eid al-Adha;10
(z) The first and second days of the seventh month of the Jewish 11
calendar, which is lunar-cycle based and shifts by approximately 10 12
to 11 days each year, commonly called Rosh Hashanah; and13
(aa) The tenth day of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar, 14
which is lunar-cycle based and shifts by approximately 10 to 11 days 15
each year, commonly called Yom Kippur. 16
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