Governor Ron DeSantis announced late Friday that state offices will close Wednesday for Thanksgiving, giving state workers a head start for the holiday celebration.
The offices would already be closed on Friday, in addition to the Thursday holiday. This is the first time in recent memory that a governor has thanked state workers with a five-day Thanksgiving Day weekend.
Thanksgiving is traditionally the busiest weekend of the year. AAA estimates that 71.7 million people will travel more than 50 miles from their homes this Thanksgiving.
The extra day off for nearly 100,000 government employees will come in the form of administrative leave, a Department of Management Services spokesperson said.
“Because there are essential services that the state must continue, employees who are required to work that day will be allowed to take an equivalent amount of administrative leave within the next seven months,” said Dan Barrow with DMS.
Governor Ron DeSantis has been very generous with additional vacation days for state workers, often creating four-day weekends.
DeSantis has been generous with time off for state employees since taking office, often allowing extra time around holidays.
Earlier this year, he created a four-day weekend for the Fourth of July celebration when he closed state offices on Friday, July 5.
And DeSantis has given state workers extra paid time off during the weeks of Christmas and New Year’s during his five years in office, closing state offices three extra days for the two holidays last year.
In both cases, DeSantis thanked state workers for their “tireless work throughout the year to help and assist Florida families.”
James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com and is on X axis @CallTallahassee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: DeSantis extends state workers’ Thanksgiving holiday by an extra day
