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Some federal employees will be off Friday to observe Juneteenth holiday

With President Joe Biden expected to sign a bill marking Juneteenth as a national holiday, federal employees will have a paid day off on Friday.

WASHINGTON — Most federal employees will not be required to come into work on Friday as President Joe Biden prepares to sign a bill that would make Juneteenth a national holiday, according to a tweet by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Juneteenth, which celebrates the final emancipation of enslaved Americans in Texas on June 19, 1865, falls on a Saturday. So, the OPM made the decision to have federal employees observe it on a workday this year. 

On Wednesday, the House voted 415-14 to add June 19 as a federal holiday, just one day after the Senate unanimously passed the bill under a special agreement that expedites the process for considering legislation. 

President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law later Thursday afternoon.

Once signed into law, Juneteenth will become the United States' 12th official federal holiday. 

The last time a federal holiday was commissioned was in 1983 when President Ronald Reagan signed a bill that nationally recognized Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

In addition to federal employees living in and around D.C., Maryland and Virginia, state employees will also be observing the holiday with Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan signing a coinciding proclamation that recognizes Juneteenth as a state holiday and tweeting that state offices will close on Friday.

“This is an important step forward for our country,” Hogan said in a statement. “Maryland is proud to support this legislation, and observe this new national holiday.” 

Although Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has not announced any Juneteenth updates, he previously signed a law last year that also made June 19 a paid holiday for state employees. 

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