Working on Memorial Day? You're in Good Company

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If you have to trudge in to work this Memorial Day, you can take solace in the fact that you won't be alone.

Although 97 percent of employers have designated Memorial Day as a paid day off, more than 40 percent of companies still require at least some employees to work the holiday, according to a new study from Bloomberg BNA.

Along with Christmas, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, Labor Day and July Fourth, Memorial Day is one of the six paid days off for nearly all U.S. workers, said Matt Sottong, Bloomberg BNA's managing editor of surveys and research reports.

"However, as with most federal holidays, where most Americans receive a paid day off, some will be required to punch the clock, particularly technical workers and public safety and security personnel," Sottong said in a statement.

The study revealed that nearly 20 percent of businesses have at least some members of their technical staff working on Memorial Day, and 15 percent of businesses said they'll have security and public safety workers doing the same.

In addition, 13 percent of organizations will have professional employees working, 12 percent will have managers on the clock and 11 percent will make service and maintenance personnel report for duty. Just 10 percent of businesses will have sales and customer service employees working on Monday.

The good news for people who have to work the holiday is that their paychecks will be a bit larger for doing so. The research discovered that 85 percent of companies that have employees work on Memorial Day provide them with some type of extra benefit.

Specifically, 28 percent will give time-and-a-half pay, 20 percent will provide both extra pay and compensatory time, and 15 percent will pay double time or double time-and-a-half.

Large companies are the most likely to have workers on the clock Monday. The study shows that 80 percent of businesses with more than 1,000 employees will have at least some employees work Memorial Day, compared with just 31 percent of small businesses.

The study was based on surveys of more than 100 human resources professionals.

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