RS 55 - Days of public rest, legal holidays, and half-holidays
A. The following shall be days of public rest and legal holidays and half-holidays:
(1) The following shall be days of public rest and legal holidays: Sundays; January 1, New Year's Day; January 8, Battle of New Orleans; the third Monday in January, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday; January 19, Robert E. Lee Day; third Monday in February, Washington's Birthday; Good Friday; the last Monday in May, National Memorial Day; June 3, Confederate Memorial Day; July 4, Independence Day; August 30, Huey P. Long Day; the first Monday in September, Labor Day; the second Monday in October, Christopher Columbus Day; November 1, All Saints' Day; November 11, Veterans' Day; the fourth Thursday in November, Thanksgiving Day; December 25, Christmas Day; Inauguration Day in the city of Baton Rouge; provided, however, that in the parish of Orleans, the city of Baton Rouge, in each of the parishes comprising the second and sixth congressional districts, except the parish of Ascension, and in each of the parishes comprising the fourteenth and thirty-first judicial districts of the state, the whole of every Saturday shall be a legal holiday, and in the parishes of Catahoula, Caldwell, West Carroll, Concordia, East Carroll, Franklin, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, Richland, Tensas, Union, Jackson, Avoyelles, West Feliciana, Rapides, Natchitoches, Grant, LaSalle, Winn, Lincoln, and East Baton Rouge, the whole of every Saturday shall be a holiday for all banking institutions, and in the parishes of Sabine and Vernon each Wednesday and Saturday, from 12:00 o'clock noon until 12:00 o'clock midnight, shall be a half-holiday for all banking institutions. All banks and trust companies, however, may, each at its option, remain open and exercise all of its regular banking functions and duties upon January 8; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday; January 19; Washington's Birthday; Good Friday; National Memorial Day; June 3; August 30; Christopher Columbus Day; November 1; and Veterans' Day; and all banks and trust companies located in Ward 1 of the parish of Avoyelles may, each at its option, remain open and exercise all of its regular banking functions and duties until 12 o'clock noon on Saturdays; however, when on any of said last named days any bank or trust company does actually remain open it shall, as to transactions on such day, to exactly the same extent as if such day were not otherwise a legal holiday, be not subject to any of the provisions of R.S. 7:85 and 251 or any other laws of Louisiana covering the matters of maturity of negotiable instruments and demand, notice, presentment, acceptance, or protest thereof on legal holidays and half-holidays, and all instruments payable to or at such bank upon such day shall become due on such day; and provided, further, that the option of remaining open shall not, except as otherwise provided in this Paragraph, apply to Saturdays or Wednesdays which are holidays or half-holidays, or to Mardi Gras when the same has been declared a legal holiday; and provided still further that nothing in any law of this state shall in any manner whatsoever affect the validity of or render void or voidable the payment, certification, or acceptance of a check or other negotiable instrument or any other transaction by a bank in Louisiana because done on any holiday or half-holiday or because done on any day upon which such bank, if remaining open because of the option given it herein, if the payment, certification, acceptance, or other transaction could have been validly done on any other day.
(2) In all parishes of the state the governing authorities thereof shall have the option to declare the whole of every Saturday a holiday, and until the whole of Saturday is so declared a holiday in any parish, Saturday from 12 o'clock noon until 12 o'clock midnight shall be a half-holiday; provided that in the city of Baton Rouge and in the Parish of Orleans the whole of every Saturday is a holiday; provided further, that the governing authority of the Parish of Washington may declare the whole of Wednesday or the whole of Saturday a holiday, and if the Parish of Washington declares the whole of Wednesday a holiday, no part of Saturday shall be a holiday in that parish. In no parish shall the whole of Wednesday be a holiday when the immediately preceding day is a holiday.
(3) In the parishes of Orleans, St. Bernard, Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, East Baton Rouge, Lafayette, St. Tammany, Iberia, St. Martin, Ascension, Washington, Calcasieu, Jefferson Davis, St. Landry, Evangeline, Cameron, Assumption, St. Mary, Acadia, Vermilion, Iberville, Pointe Coupee, West Baton Rouge, Lafourche, East Feliciana, and West Feliciana, and in all municipalities, Mardi Gras shall be a holiday when the governing authorities so declare by ordinance. The school boards of the parishes of Acadia and Lafayette may declare Mardi Gras and the International Rice Festival in Crowley a holiday for public school children of those parishes. In the parish of Washington, the Friday of the Washington Parish Free Fair shall be a legal holiday for the purpose of authorizing the clerk of court for the parish of Washington to close his office on that day.
(4) Whenever December 25, January 1, or July 4 falls on a Sunday, the next day is a holiday. When December 25, January 1, or July 4 falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday is a holiday when the governing authorities so declare by ordinance, and if the local governing authorities declare the Friday preceding January 1st a legal holiday, such holiday shall be an optional holiday for banking institutions, and each bank may, each at its option remain open and exercise all of its regular banking functions under conditions set forth in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection.
(5) The governing authorities of all parishes in the state shall have the option to declare the second Friday of Holiday in Dixie a legal holiday. The school boards in all parishes shall have the option to declare such day a holiday for public school children.
(6) The third Monday in January, the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for public schools; provided however, that a local school board shall decide to observe this holiday during a regularly scheduled school day with or without the necessity of adjourning school for all or any portion of the school day.
(7) The third Monday in February, the birthday of President George Washington for public schools; provided however, that a local school board shall decide to observe this holiday during a regularly scheduled school day with or without the necessity of adjourning school for all or any portion of the school day.
(8) The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years for public schools in any parish where the parish governing authority has established a polling place at a public school.
B. Legal holidays shall be observed by the departments of the state as follows:
(1)(a) Insofar as may be practicable in the administration of the government, no employee shall work on New Year's Day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday which shall be observed on the third Monday of January of each year or in conjunction with the day of the federal observance, Mardi Gras Day, Good Friday, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, Inauguration Day once in every four years in the city of Baton Rouge, or the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years.
(b) In addition, in the city court of Sulphur, the second Monday in October, Christopher Columbus Day shall be a legal holiday.
(2) Robert E. Lee Day, Washington's Birthday, National Memorial Day, Confederate Memorial Day, and Huey P. Long Day shall be observed only in such manner as the governor may proclaim, considering the pressure of the state's business; however, not more than two such legal holidays shall be proclaimed in any one year, one of which shall be National Memorial Day.
(3) The governor, by executive proclamation, may authorize the observance of such other holidays and half-holidays as he may deem in keeping with efficient administration. Whenever, in accordance with this Paragraph, the governor declares the Friday after Thanksgiving Day in November a holiday, such holiday shall be designated as Acadian Day and shall be observed in commemoration of the arrival in Louisiana of the Acadian people from the French colony Acadie following the ceding of that colony to England in 1713 and in recognition of the fact that much of the early economic and political development of Louisiana is directly attributable to the industry of the Acadian people, through cultivation of land, utilization of Louisiana's natural resources, and the interest of the Acadian people in political self-determination and American democracy.
(4) When one or more holidays or half-holidays fall on a full-time employee's regular day off, his holiday shall be the closest regularly scheduled workday preceding or following the legal holiday, as designated by the head of the agency. Employees whose regular work hours do not fall in the time period, or fall only partly within the time period, of the holiday shall receive a number of hours equivalent to the holiday through compensatory time or overtime. Part-time employees having a regular work schedule will receive benefits in a similar manner as full-time employees except that their benefits will be prorated to the number of hours normally worked.
(5) When time off is declared in case of natural emergencies, only those persons actually scheduled to work during the time period of the declaration shall receive the time off. Those persons who are scheduled to work during those hours and, because of the requirements of their job, do in fact work shall be entitled to compensatory time for those hours.
C. It shall be lawful to file and record suits, deeds, mortgages and liens, to issue and serve citations, to make sheriff's sales by virtue of any execution, and to take and to execute all other legal proceedings on Wednesday and Saturday holidays and half-holidays.
D. Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 6:65 or any other law to the contrary, all banking institutions and savings and loan associations located within the parishes of Terrebonne, Lafourche, Iberia, Pointe Coupee, West Baton Rouge, St. Mary, and Iberville, and all banking institutions located within the parishes of Lafayette and St. Landry, shall be closed during any year on Saturdays, Sundays, New Year's Day, Mardi Gras, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas; provided, however, that when New Year's Day, Independence Day or Christmas fall on a Sunday, said banking institutions and savings and loan associations shall be closed on the next day, and said financial institutions may, each at its option, remain open and exercise all of its regular functions and duties upon January eighth; January nineteenth; the third Monday in February, Washington's Birthday; Good Friday; the last Monday in May, National Memorial Day; June third; August thirtieth; the second Monday in October, Christopher Columbus Day; November first; and November eleventh, Veterans' Day; and further provided that when on any of said last named days any said financial institution does actually remain open it shall, as to transactions on such day, to exactly the same extent as if such day were not otherwise a legal holiday, be not subject to any of the provisions of R.S. 7:85 and 251, or any other laws of Louisiana, covering the matters of maturity of negotiable instruments and demands, notice, presentment, acceptance or protest thereof on legal holidays and half-holidays, and all instruments payable to or at such bank upon such day shall become due on such day; and provided further that the option of remaining open shall not apply to Saturdays or Wednesdays which are holidays or half-holidays, or to Mardi Gras when the same has been declared a legal holiday; and provided further that nothing in any law of this state shall in any manner whatsoever affect the validity of, or render void or voidable, the payment, certification of acceptance of a check or other negotiable instrument, or any other transaction by a bank in Louisiana because done on any holiday or half-holiday or because done on any day upon which such financial institution if remaining open because of the option given it herein, if the payment, certification, acceptance, or other transaction could have been validly done on any other day, provided, however, that in the parishes of Beauregard, Sabine, Vernon, Evangeline and DeSoto the banking institutions may elect to make the whole of Saturdays holidays and close, in lieu of half-holidays on Wednesdays and half-holidays on Saturdays.
E.(1)(a)(i) Each clerk of a district court, parish court, and city court shall close his office on the following days: New Year's Day, January first; Washington's Birthday, the third Monday in February; Good Friday; Memorial Day, the last Monday in May; the Fourth of July; Labor Day, the first Monday in September; All Saints' Day, November first; Veterans' Day, November eleventh; Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November, and the next day, Friday; Christmas Eve Day; Christmas Day; and New Year's Eve Day, December thirty-first.
(ii) Whenever New Year's Day, the Fourth of July, or Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday shall be a holiday. Whenever New Year's Day, the Fourth of July, or Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, the following Monday shall be a holiday.
(iii) In addition, in the city courts of Hammond and Sulphur, Ward Four, Mardi Gras and the day on which the national observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday is celebrated shall be legal holidays and the clerk of court shall close his office on those days. In addition, in the city court of Sulphur, the second Monday in October, Christopher Columbus Day shall be a legal holiday and the clerk of city court shall close his office on that day. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, Mardi Gras shall be a legal holiday for the clerks of court for the parishes of East and West Feliciana, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Pointe Coupee, West Baton Rouge, St. John the Baptist, St. Charles, Lafourche, St. Mary, Assumption, Terrebonne, St. Martin, Ascension, St. James, St. Tammany, St. Bernard, Jefferson Davis, Livingston, Acadia, Vermilion, Calcasieu, Orleans, Allen, and Tangipahoa.
(b) In addition, each clerk of a district court, parish court, and city court shall close his office on all of the legal holidays provided in Subparagraph (B)(1)(a) of this Section and on any day that the governor has proclaimed a legal holiday pursuant to Paragraph (B)(3) of this Section. Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, each clerk of a district court, parish court, and city court may close his office on any day an emergency situation has been declared by the governor or the local governing authority and governmental entities, including the courthouse, have been ordered to close.
(c) In addition, each clerk of a city court or parish court, with the approval of the chief judge of the court, may close his office on the day proclaimed by the governor or the local governing authority as a holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday.
(d) In addition, each clerk of court in the parishes of St. James and St. John the Baptist shall close his office on any day upon which the governor has proclaimed a legal holiday. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to Inauguration Day once every four years or General Election Day every two years.
(e) In addition, in the parish of Vermilion, the Friday of the Cattle Festival in Abbeville shall be a legal holiday for the purpose of authorizing the clerk of court of the Fifteenth Judicial District Court and the clerk of court of the City Court of Abbeville to close their offices in observance of that day, unless there is an election that requires their office to remain open.
(f) In addition, in the parish of Iberia, the Friday of the Sugar Cane Festival shall be a legal holiday for the purpose of authorizing the clerk of court of the Sixteenth Judicial District Court in the parish of Iberia to close offices in observance of that day, unless there is an election that requires the office to remain open.
(g) In addition, in the parish of St. Mary, the Friday of the Black Bear Festival shall be a legal holiday for the purpose of authorizing the clerk of court of the Sixteenth Judicial District Court in the parish of St. Mary to close offices in observance of that day, unless there is an election that requires the office to remain open.
(h) In addition, in the parish of Grant, the Friday of the Pecan Festival shall be a legal holiday for the purpose of authorizing the clerk of court of the Thirty-Fifth Judicial District Court in the parish of Grant to close offices in observance of that day, unless there is an election that requires the office to remain open.
(i) In addition, in the parish of Union, the Friday of the Watermelon Festival shall be a legal holiday for the purpose of authorizing the clerk of court of the Third Judicial District Court in the parish of Union to close offices in observance of that day, unless there are functions and duties related to an election that require the office to remain open.
(2) If an emergency situation develops which, in the judgment of the clerk of court, renders it hazardous or otherwise unsafe for employees of the office of the clerk to continue in the performance of their official duties or for the general public to conduct business with the clerk's office, the clerk, with prior approval from the clerk's chief judge or other person authorized to exercise his authority, may order the closing of his office for the duration of the hazardous or unsafe condition. No such closure shall be effective nor shall such period of closing be considered a legal holiday unless prior written approval or written confirmation from such chief judge or person acting on his behalf is received by the clerk of court. When the office is reopened, the clerk shall attach a statement setting forth the dates of closure, the hours of closure if applicable, the reasons for closure, and a statement that, pursuant to Paragraph (3) of this Subsection, these days or parts of days were legal holidays to every document, petition, or pleading filed in the office of the clerk on the first day or part of a day his office is open after being closed under the provisions of this Paragraph, whenever the petition or document relates to a cause of action, right of appeal, or other matter against which prescription could have run or time periods imposed by law could have expired.
(3) Only the enumerated holidays in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, days of closure under Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, Mardi Gras only in those parishes in which the governing authority of the parish declares a holiday under authority of Paragraph (A)(3) of this Section, and all Saturdays and Sundays shall be considered as legal holidays for the purposes of Code of Civil Procedure Article 5059.
(4) The Municipal Court of New Orleans and the Traffic Court of New Orleans shall have the same legal holidays as the Civil District Court for the parish of Orleans and the Criminal District Court for the parish of Orleans.
(5) Notwithstanding any provision of this Section to the contrary, no court shall be required to be open if their respective clerk of court's office is closed pursuant to this Section.
F. Each institution of higher education in the state, through a representative appointed by it, shall designate a maximum of fourteen legal holidays per calendar year to be observed by all of its employees. If the institution does not elect to designate Veterans' Day as one of the fourteen legal holidays to be observed, an employee, who is a veteran as defined in R.S. 29:251.2, shall be allowed to attend activities or events related to Veterans' Day with compensation and for no more than four hours, when the designated day for observance by the state is on a regularly scheduled workday.
Amended by Acts 1950, No. 96, §1; Acts 1950, No. 98, §1; Acts 1952, No. 534, §§1, 2; Acts 1954, No. 593, §1; Acts 1956, No. 463, §1; Acts 1956, No. 549, §1; Acts 1958, No. 210, §1; Acts 1958, No. 270, §1; Acts 1964, No. 158; Acts 1964, No. 250; Acts 1965, No. 159, §1; Acts 1966, No. 45, §1; Acts 1966, No. 137, §1; Acts 1966, No. 152, §1; Acts 1968, No. 48, §§1, 2; Acts 1968, No. 178, §1; Acts 1968, No. 380, §1; Acts 1968, No. 404, §1; Acts 1968, No. 497, §1; Acts 1970, No. 202, §1; Acts 1970, No. 575, §1; Acts 1972, No. 640, §1; Acts 1973, No. 131, §1; Acts 1975, No. 38, §1; Acts 1976, No. 72, §1; Acts 1976, No. 98, §1, eff. July 9, 1976; Acts 1976, No. 111, §1; Acts 1976, No. 493, §1; Acts 1977, No. 505, §1; Acts 1977, No. 668, §1; Acts 1978, No. 69, §1; Acts 1978, No. 163, §1; Acts 1981, No. 171, §1; Acts 1982, No. 148, §1; Acts 1982, No. 255, §1; Acts 1982, No. 627, §1; Acts 1984, No. 79, §1; Acts 1984, No. 464, §1; Acts 1984, No. 643, §1; Acts 1985, No. 838, §1; Acts 1985, No. 1002, §1; Acts 1986, No. 2, §1; Acts 1986, No. 153, §1; Acts 1986, No. 296, §1; Acts 1986, No. 607, §1; Acts 1988, No. 346, §1; Acts 1989, No. 570, §1; Acts 1991, No. 139, §1; Acts 1991, No. 906, §1; Acts 1992, No. 333, §1; Acts 1992, No. 750, §1; Acts 1992, No. 772, §1; Acts 1993, No. 487, §1; Acts 1993, No. 495, §1; Acts 1993, No. 534, §1; Acts 1993, No. 698, §1; Acts 1995, No. 1021, §1; Acts 1995, No. 1307, §1; Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 22, §1; Acts 1999, No. 257, §1; Acts 1999, No. 279, §1; Acts 1999, No. 733, §1; Acts 2003, No. 354, §1; Acts 2003, No. 409, §1; Acts 2004, No. 474, §1; Acts 2004, No. 740, §1; Acts 2005, No. 45, §1; Acts 2006, No. 734, §1; Acts 2008, No. 788, §1; Acts 2013, No. 220, §1, eff. June 11, 2013; Acts 2014, No. 206, §1; Acts 2014, No. 671, §1; Acts 2015, No. 40, §1; Acts 2016, No. 33, §1; Acts 2016, No. 34, §1, eff. May 10, 2016; Acts 2019, No. 316, §1; Acts 2020, No. 264, §1.