I’m of a different mindset. Maybe it’s because of my age and the time that I’ve been in the workforce (I have no fear about politics in the workforce). I emailed and discussed with the CEO of a small company that it was hypocrisy that we were closed on Presidents’ Day but not MLK day (company was only about 24 people; this wouldn’t have been possible at a huge corp). I said that we should be closed on both or open on both, taking that side that it’s better that we’re open on both. We started being off on MLK day after that.

You are a person. You were given a day off. You mistakenly worked that day. Tell your boss that you made a mistake and you want to shift your day off. I’m not saying that you should demand it. I’m saying that you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for what is owed. As far as the legal bit goes, I’m not suggesting that you should sue if you don’t get the day. I’m saying that as a worker, you are likely somewhat protected and it’s better for them not to fa&fo, so they’ll probably just say “sure thing.”

Don’t be afraid to assert yourself. Being an advocate for yourself is one of the most important skills you can learn.

The email to the CEO was as follows:

Hey[CEO],

We spoke about observation of Martin Luther King Day last month. Something that was mentioned was that [Company] remained open because some of our clients remained open. I suggested that observing the holiday would signal our solidarity with marginalized peoples, which I think has value.

This month, [Company] was closed on President’s Day, despite some of our clients remaining open. I recall that both [Client] and [Client] had new hire tickets for people starting on that day. This seems to be a contradiction.

Both holidays are the same class or category: Bank Holidays. If [Company] observes one, it should observe the other. If [Company] is open on one, it should be open on the other. This is not a ploy for an additional paid holiday. I would rather that we work on both MLK Day and President’s Day than be open on MLK Day and closed on President’s Day. I believe that we should observe the holiday of a civil rights leader if we observe what has been, until recently, a holiday for white men.

Respectfully, [some_guy]

Response from CEO about a week later:

[some_guy], Thanks for the email. I appreciate it and the discussion we had a few weeks ago. At this point I am planning to add a new holiday for 2020 for MLK Day. Thanks for inspiring principles based change. [CEO]