Cayuga County employees were expected to give up floating holiday, in exchange for Juneteenth because of county’s reluctance to add another

During recent contract negotiations between Cayuga County officials and the local Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), efforts to recognize Juneteenth as a county holiday failed.

According to reporting by The Citizen, the county was willing to designate Juneteenth as a holiday only if employees would forgo their annual floating holiday.

Juneteenth, the day marking the emancipation of enslaved people in Texas, was made a federal holiday in 2021 and a New York state holiday in 2020.

The county’s reluctance to add another holiday to the 12 already observed (New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Christmas) led to it being excluded from the new three-year contract with CSEA.

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