HB 2166
In CommitteeHouse
Major religious holidays
Recognizing major religious holidays.
This status may be delayed. See Action History below for the latest updates.
How does a bill become law?
- Introduced: The bill is filed and assigned a number.
- Committee: A subject-matter committee holds hearings, takes public testimony, and decides whether to advance the bill.
- Floor Vote: The full chamber (House or Senate) debates and votes on the bill.
- Opposite Chamber: The bill repeats the committee and floor vote process in the other chamber.
- Governor: The Governor reviews the bill and decides whether to sign or veto it.
- Signed: The bill has been signed into law.
AI Analysis
This bill formally recognizes a broader range of religious holidays—including Christian, Jewish, and Islamic observances—under state law and expands leave options for public employees to observe them. It adds Easter Sunday, Good Friday, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Hanukkah, Passover, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur to the list of recognized holidays, and allows employees to take two unpaid religious holidays per year in addition to existing paid holidays.
- Adds Easter Sunday, Good Friday, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Hanukkah, Passover, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur to the list of officially recognized (but not legally paid) holidays in state law.
- Grants state and local government employees (excluding school districts and short-term higher ed staff) one additional paid holiday per year they can choose after consulting with their employer.
- Grants all state and local government employees—including school staff and short-term higher ed employees—two unpaid holidays per year for religious observances or conscience-based reasons, unless it causes undue hardship or disrupts public safety.
- Clarifies that if a holiday falls on a weekend, the adjacent weekday becomes the legal holiday (e.g., Saturday → Friday, Sunday → Monday).
- Allows port districts and municipal public safety/transit employees to choose between state or federal versions of overlapping holidays for paid time off—but not both.
Who is affected
- State and local government employees — State and local government employees (excluding school district staff and short-term higher education employees) gain one additional paid holiday they can choose, and all state and local government employees (including school staff and short-term higher ed employees) gain two unpaid holidays for religious observances.
- Higher education employees — Employees of public institutions of higher education (including community colleges, technical colleges, and workforce training programs) gain two unpaid religious holidays and are included in the new paid holiday selection process.
- Port district and municipal public safety/transit employees — Employees of port districts and municipal public transit or law enforcement agencies gain flexibility to choose between state or federal legal holidays for paid time off, but cannot receive both.
- Employees with religious observances not covered by existing paid holidays — Employees who observe Christian, Jewish, or other religious holidays (e.g., Easter, Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Hanukkah, Good Friday) gain the right to take up to two unpaid days off for religious observance without losing their jobs, unless it causes undue hardship.
Pro/Con Analysis
Stronger case for benefits
Potential Benefits (5)
The explicit inclusion of major Christian, Jewish, and Islamic holidays (e.g., Easter, Passover, Yom Kippur, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha) in the list of recognized religious observances affirms religious freedom and reduces discrimination against employees who observe non-dominant faiths.
Rights & LibertiesPeopleRef: Sec. 2(3)State and local government employees (excluding school staff and short-term higher ed) gain one *paid* holiday of their choosing—enhancing work-life balance and reducing pressure to use vacation time for religious observance—particularly benefiting those without accrued leave or paid time off.
Business & EmploymentPeopleRef: Sec. 2(2)All state and local government employees—including school staff and short-term higher ed workers—gain two *unpaid* religious holidays per year, strengthening constitutional protections for conscience-based observance and reducing job-based religious discrimination.
Rights & LibertiesPeopleRef: Sec. 2(3)Clarifying weekend holiday observance (e.g., Saturday → Friday, Sunday → Monday) improves predictability and consistency in public service delivery and scheduling across agencies.
Public SafetyPeopleRef: Sec. 2(5)By formally recognizing religious holidays like Easter, Passover, and Yom Kippur, the bill supports inclusive school environments and may reduce stigma for students and families from minority faith backgrounds.
EducationPeopleRef: Sec. 2(1)
Potential Concerns (5)
The requirement for employers to accommodate two unpaid religious holidays per year—unless doing so would cause 'undue hardship' or interfere with public safety—may increase administrative burden and scheduling complexity for small employers and public agencies, especially in understaffed departments.
Business & EmploymentRef: Sec. 2(3)Local governments and school districts may face increased operational challenges in covering for employees taking two unpaid days off annually, particularly in一线 public safety and education roles where staffing is tight.
Local GovernmentRef: Sec. 2(3)The rule that port and municipal public safety/transit employees can only choose *one* holiday (state or federal) for paid time—rather than both—may create inequity or confusion for employees who observe overlapping holidays (e.g., Good Friday and a federal holiday), potentially reducing perceived fairness.
Local GovernmentRef: Sec. 2(4)The 'undue hardship' exception for public safety personnel could lead to inconsistent application across jurisdictions, potentially undermining reliability of emergency response coverage during peak religious holiday periods.
Public SafetyRef: Sec. 2(3)The new paid holiday option for most state and local employees (excluding school staff and short-term higher ed) may increase labor costs for cash-strapped local governments, especially if uptake is high and not offset by productivity gains or staffing adjustments.
Business & EmploymentRef: Sec. 2(2)
Who Is Most Affected
Employees who observe Jewish, Christian, or Islamic holidays (e.g., Easter, Passover, Yom Kippur, Eid al-Fitr) gain concrete, legally protected time off for religious observance—especially impactful for those whose faiths are not currently covered by existing paid holidays.
Local governments and school districts may face modest administrative and scheduling costs, but the impact is mitigated by the unpaid nature of most new leave and the optional nature of the additional paid holiday.
Short-term higher ed staff (e.g., adjuncts, seasonal instructors) gain two unpaid religious holidays—previously excluded from the paid holiday option—reducing prior inequity, though they do not receive the new paid holiday.
Public safety and transit employees gain flexibility to choose between state or federal holidays for paid time, but are capped at one—potentially limiting benefit if both holidays are significant to their faith.
The bill’s formal recognition of diverse religious holidays may reduce cultural marginalization and improve social cohesion, especially for Muslim, Jewish, and Black Christian communities whose holidays are newly acknowledged at the state level.