Tuesday, February 18, is the last day to submit a claim for up-to two days of pay in the Juneteenth settlement won by CSEA for all California Classified staff who worked the Juneteenth holiday in 2021 and 2022. If you didn't see the email, search your district email account with "Juneteenth" in the search bar. 

Upon the creation of the federal Juneteenth holiday, CSEA took action to ensure its members would benefit. The union successfully negotiated with hundreds of school districts to recognize Juneteenth as a paid holiday for classified employees. 

However, nearly 300 other districts resisted, leading CSEA to file a class action lawsuit on behalf of members who worked on the holiday but whose employers did not recognize that day as a holiday and compensate them appropriately. 

The union prevailed, bargaining a settlement for the lawsuit that ensures impacted members can now claim the compensation they are owed.

CSEA also successfully lobbied for state legislation to unmistakably clarify that Juneteenth is a paid holiday for all classified employees in California’s public schools as a result of the federal law signed in 2021.

Thanks to CSEA’s unwavering commitment to fighting for our members’ legal rights, nearly 300 school employers are now bound by this settlement and must compensate our members for their work on the holiday in prior years and must observe Juneteenth as a recognized paid holiday for all classified school employees in California into the future.

This settlement ensures that classified employees who are currently employed by an employer included in the settlement, and who worked on Juneteenth in 2021, 2022 and/or 2023 (June 18, 2021, June 20, 2022, and/or June 19, 2023, respectively), as well as retired members who worked on these dates, but were not compensated with holiday pay, are eligible for monetary payment or compensatory time.

“We always say our strength is in our numbers, and this is a perfect example of the power of representation and a united front. It is because of our combined strength and resources that CSEA is able to fight and accomplish groundbreaking victories such as this on behalf of members,” said Association President, Adam Weinberger.