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Nearly One-Third of Organizations Will Close For Business on Martin Luther King Day

NEWS RELEASE

Contacts:
Karen James Cody,
703-341-3476

Arlington, Va. (January 15, 2009) – In observance of Martin Luther King Day, nearly one in three employers (31 percent) will give all or most workers a paid holiday on Monday, January 21, according to BNA's most recent survey of holiday practices.

This is consistent with figures reported by employers in 2008 (31 percent), 2007 (33 percent) and 2006 (31 percent) but represents a marked increase over the more than two decade history of this holiday. Only 14 percent of surveyed employers made Martin Luther King Day a paid holiday in its inaugural year of 1986 and figures stayed in the teens for six years until a spike in 1993 (24 percent). Figures remained in the low to mid-20 percent range before climbing to 30 percent for the first time in 2003.

Also, consistent with past years, nonbusiness employers are far more likely to make Martin Luther King Day a paid holiday than are nonmanufacturing or manufacturing establishments. One-half of nonbusiness organizations (50 percent) will make January 21 a paid holiday, compared with 28 percent of nonmanufacturing firms and 9 percent of manufacturers.

Larger organizations, with 1,000 or more employees, are somewhat more likely to give workers paid time off on Martin Luther King Day than their smaller counterparts (36 percent versus 30 percent). Union representation does not appear to have a significant impact on whether or not an organization designates Martin Luther King Day as a paid holiday (32 percent of unionized establishments compared with 31 percent of nonunion organizations).

Sample: A cross-section of 293 employers responded to a web-based survey administered from September 22 to October 6, 2008. Of these 82 percent employ fewer than 1,000 workers, while 18 percent employ 1,000 workers or more. Twenty-three percent of those participating were manufacturing firms, 42 percent were services/nonmanufacturing companies, and 35 percent were nonbusiness organizations. Nonunion establishments make up 80 percent of the survey sample, while the remaining 20 percent employ at least some union-represented workers.

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