CSEA has reached a historic class action settlement guaranteeing compensation for classified employees who worked on the Juneteenth holiday in 2021, 2022, and/or 2023 but did not receive the holiday rate of pay for that work.

This groundbreaking victory also reinforces Juneteenth’s newly recognized status as a paid state holiday for all classified school employees in California, a milestone achieved through CSEA’s successful lobbying efforts.

In 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, many districts in California did not initially recognize it as a federal holiday for classified employees, leaving CSEA members feeling they were being taken advantage of. Existing law designates holidays on which schools are required to close, including days appointed by the President as happened with Juneteenth.  

Value of CSEA membership
It’s here that the true value of CSEA membership comes into full view.  

In response to districts not observing the holiday, CSEA quickly engaged in a three-pronged approach on behalf of all members to ensure they received the federal holiday they were entitled to.  

In bargaining, CSEA secured agreements with employers across the state granting a new holiday for CSEA members in those districts. This involved CSEA labor relations representatives working directly with school districts to negotiate on behalf of members.  

Class-action lawsuit
In CSEA’s legal department, attorneys filed and were granted class action status in a lawsuit against hundreds of school employers who refused to grant the holiday. And in Sacramento, CSEA Governmental Relations staff wrote and lobbied for the successful passage of Assembly Bill 1655, which clarified 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.  

While CSEA works on behalf of members in each of these departments every day, Juneteenth is a perfect example of the power of organizing and the immense value of union membership.  

CSEA's collective strength
With staff across the Association uniting to lend their expertise to the effort, an event that could have ended in school districts denying a paid holiday to classified employees was turned back by CSEA’s collective strength.  

For non-union workers across the country, this is an all-too-common scenario with no recourse or support to turn to.  

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.

At CSEA, members have not just their union siblings but an entire organization at their backs ready to act on a moment’s notice to ensure they receive the rights and respect to which they are entitled.  

Learn more
To learn more about CSEA’s class-action Juneteenth settlement, visit csea.com/Juneteenth