As a private employer, you are not legally required to observe federal holidays and provide paid time off (only federal employees are guaranteed paid time on federal holidays). However, many private employers observe certain federal holidays, and as noted above, generally, the practice is to negotiate certain holidays in writing with your nanny. We have a written policy with our nanny regarding which federal holidays she has off. Fair Labor Standards Act does not require employers to pay time and a half or any other premium rate for working on a federal holiday (although a few states do but DC does not), but if working on a federal holiday means she is working more than 40/hours a week, than she would be owed overtime pay.

Anonymous wrote:OP here - yes, I agree. Our nanny also has all federal holidays off and paid. I was just curious in the event Nannies do work those days how people arranged (I figured time and a half pay and pre-agreed)

In this situation, you would owe her overtime (time and a half) for working on what is supposed to be a paid day off. In addition to paying her the 8 hours at her standard rate for the holiday. If your contract did not give her federal holidays off, then she would have been paid at the normal rate.

You negotiate which days are off, paid or unpaid. I typically work all holidays.

Yea, our nanny works Veterans Day because my office does not close those days. We give the Friday after Thanksgiving off in lieu of it. And once we asked our nanny to work a day that was typically holiday but no, time and half is not required.

Nanny here. It depends on what you both agree to in the contract. Not everyone has off federal holidays (Doctors,nurses etc ) but yes it should be paid time and half

I am PP who said that you pay the nanny her regular rate on holiday, plus you pay her for the holiday which means she gets double pay for that day. So, it is not the "same" pay, it is twice as much. If she agrees to work at all.

We were in a nanny share once where both the other parents had to work on Veteran's Day and Columbus Day. So, we offered the nanny Christmas Eve and the day after Thanksgiving as paid holidays instead, and she was fine with it.

She also got three weeks paid vacation and two weeks of sick leave a year. She was very happy with the contract.

I work for doctors, I work several federal holidays.

Anonymous wrote:Nope, you pay her for the holiday and you pay her regular rate if she agrees to come

You’re confused. Why would anyone work, when you owe them the same money to observe a federal holiday?

Nope, you pay her for the holiday and you pay her regular rate if she agrees to come

OP here - yes, I agree. Our nanny also has all federal holidays off and paid. I was just curious in the event Nannies do work those days how people arranged (I figured time and a half pay and pre-agreed)

Of course nanny does not come on federal holidays, that is why they are holidays, she gets paid and does not work on those days

My work only gives me some of the federal holidays. So that is what my nanny has. But it was all written out in our job offer and nanny agreement.

Most people have a paid day off for every federal holiday. If there’s an emergency situation of some sort, you can offer time and a half.

Does your nanny ever come in on federal holidays and if so what is the arrangement regarding which holidays and pay? Regular or time and a half?