CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to City employment; establishing Juneteenth as a legal holiday for certain City employees and a legal parking holiday; amending other provisions to implement Juneteenth as a legal holiday, conform with state law, and make technical corrections; and amending Sections 4.20.190 and 11.14.277 of the Seattle Municipal Code.
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WHEREAS, on January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation legally ended slavery in the Confederate states, but the low presence of Union troops and refusal of white slaveowners to comply with the proclamation prolonged slavery in Texas; and
WHEREAS, on June 19, 1865, two and one-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation and over a month after the end of the Civil War, a Union general arrived in Galveston, TX and issued General Order No. 3 securing the Union Army’s authority over Texas and informing enslaved persons in the state that they were free by executive decree; and
WHEREAS, June 19 has been celebrated in smaller communities across the nation as Juneteenth and also is known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, Emancipation Day, and Black Independence Day; and
WHEREAS, Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States; and
WHEREAS, while over 155 years have passed since chattel slavery was officially ended in the United States, slavery has left a catastrophic and unrelenting legacy of trauma for generations of Black Americans and the nation continues to struggle with dismantling discriminatory systems and structural racism; and
WHEREAS, establishing Juneteenth as a legal holiday and parking holiday brings awareness and consciousness to a crucial day in history and is a distinct step toward achieving racial equity, working toward an antiracist future and ending the historical and continued harms of slavery; and
WHEREAS, the United States government has yet to meaningfully engage in material and historical reparations to the American Descendants of Slavery; and
WHEREAS, in 2007, the Washington state legislature designated Juneteenth as a legislatively recognized day of remembrance for when slaves learned of their freedom; and
WHEREAS, in 2018 and 2019, the Mayor issued proclamations recognizing Juneteenth Day on the 155th and 156th anniversaries of the Emancipation Proclamation; and
WHEREAS, in 2020, the Council issued a proclamation recognizing Juneteenth for its historical significance and dedicated the proclamation to the City’s Black employees for their many sacrifices and commitment to the community; and
WHEREAS, on May 13, 2021, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed House Bill 1016 establishing Juneteenth as a legal holiday for state employees starting in 2022; and
WHEREAS, on June 17, 2021, United States President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into Law immediately establishing Juneteenth as a legal holiday for federal employees; and
WHEREAS, establishing Juneteenth as a legal holiday and parking holiday requires appropriate action by the Council; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 4.20.190 of the Seattle Municipal Code, last amended by Ordinance 124567, is amended as follows:
4.20.190 Holiday pay or time off((.))
A. Employees, except uniformed police and fire personnel, shall be entitled to ((ten)) 11 legal holidays and two personal holidays each calendar year, or days off in lieu thereof occurring Monday to Friday inclusive, without salary deduction. Temporary workers who qualify for fringe benefits in lieu of premium pay pursuant to subsection 4.20.055.C shall likewise be entitled under the same terms and conditions as regular employees to legal holidays that occur during periods when they are so qualified, or days off in lieu thereof without salary deduction, and for two personal holidays each calendar year or four such personal holidays if qualified pursuant to subsection 4.20.190.B ((hereof)). The provisions of this ((section)) Section 4.20.190 shall not apply to any employee whose compensation is set by a collective bargaining agreement unless the labor organization representing such employee agrees ((to be bound solely by provisions of this section with respect to the subject matter hereof)) that the provisions apply. The Seattle Human Resources Director is ((hereby)) authorized to promulgate rules providing alternative holiday pay or time off for employees not covered by collective bargaining agreements whose work schedules are other than five eight-hour days in a payroll workweek.
B. ((Effective for 2007 and thereafter, employees)) Employees who are not represented by labor organizations pursuant to chapter 41.56 RCW ((41.56)) and who have completed ((eighteen thousand seven hundred twenty (18,720))) 18,720 hours or more on regular pay status on or before December 31, of the previous year shall be entitled to two (((2))) additional personal holidays in each subsequent calendar year.
C. ((Effective January 1, 1993, legal holidays shall be observed as follows:)) The legal holidays are as follows:
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New Year's Day |
January 1((st)) |
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Martin Luther King Jr's. Birthday |
Third Monday in January |
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((Presidents's)) Presidents’ Day |
Third Monday in February |
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Memorial Day |
Last Monday in May |
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Juneteenth |
June 19 |
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Independence Day |
July 4((th)) |
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Labor Day |
First Monday in September |
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Veterans' Day |
November 11((th)) |
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Thanksgiving Day |
Fourth Thursday in November |
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The day immediately following Thanksgiving Day |
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Christmas Day |
December 25((th)) |
D. When a legal holiday falls on a Sunday, ((the holiday shall be observed on the following Monday.)) the following Monday is the legal holiday. When a legal holiday falls on a Saturday, ((the holiday shall be observed on the preceding Friday.)) the preceding Friday is the legal holiday.
Section 2. Section 11.14.277 of the Seattle Municipal Code, last amended by Ordinance 126399, is amended as follows:
11.14.277 Legal parking holidays
Except where otherwise indicated by signposting in the area or for individual parking spaces, the following are parking holidays: Sunday; the first day of January, New Year's Day; the third Monday of January, the anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr.; the third Monday of February, Presidents' Day; the last Monday of May, Memorial Day; the nineteenth day of June, Juneteenth; the fourth day of July, the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence; the first Monday in September, Labor Day; the eleventh day of November, Veterans Day; the fourth Thursday of November, Thanksgiving Day; and the twenty-fifth day of December, Christmas Day.
Whenever any parking holiday, other than Sunday, falls on a Sunday, the following Monday shall be a parking holiday.
Rates for large Seattle Center events, defined in Section 11.14.276, shall apply regardless of whether the day is a parking holiday.
Section 3. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force 30 days after its approval by the Mayor, but if not approved and returned by the Mayor within ten days after presentation, it shall take effect as provided by Seattle Municipal Code Section 1.04.020.
Passed by the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2021, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its passage this _____ day of _________________________, 2021.
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President ____________ of the City Council
Approved / returned unsigned / vetoed this ________ day of _________________, 2021.
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Jenny A. Durkan, Mayor
Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2021.
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Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)