WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
A committee of Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Health Agency members discussed adding Juneteenth to its official holiday calendar, along with Veterans Day.
The agency’s board policy committee discussed the matter last week.
Agency officials said municipal governments worked Monday last week and almost all private businesses did, too. Some county offices were open and since Juneteenth was not on the calendar for the health agency, its staff also worked.
A scramble came, however, after the Michigan Supreme Court on June 1 classified the new 2021 federal holiday as a court holiday. Like other state employees who negotiated the holiday in its 2021 labor contracts, that gave state court employees, including judges, the paid day off.
In St. Joseph County, court employees were off but had to take a vacation day to be paid.
Health agency director Rebecca Burns said the state observes three more holidays than the agency. One is the November general election day in even-numbered years. The other two are Juneteenth and Veterans Day.
