Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: Empowering employees to volunteer and serve

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day falls on Monday, Jan. 18 this year.

This U.S. holiday, signed into law by President Ronald Reagan, is observed on the third Monday in January of every year. This was done so that the holiday would be observed around the time of King’s birthday, which is Jan. 15.

In addition to the closures of most federal and state offices, many schools and banks are also closed in observance of the holiday. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 34 percent of organizations surveyed (for a 2010 holiday-closing report) indicated they will close on Monday, Jan. 18, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Whether or not a business or organization decides to close, employers may find that some employees wish to observe King’s birthday—apart from the workplace. And, understandably, many small businesses cannot afford to close their doors that day.

How do some employers deal with this employee need?

My employer has developed programs that effectively accommodate employees’ personal needs and community involvement priorities for such occasions. One of these is a paid time off (PTO) program and the other is a community volunteerism program.

Generally, these two employee programs afford for employee flexibility and empowerment. Employees can schedule time off with pay (during regular business hours and with supervisory approval) in order to pursue a work-life balance and/or to volunteer for authorized community involvement activities. 

Indeed my employer encourages and supports community involvement; and employees are granted four paid hours a month to volunteer within their communities. Again, employees must request and receive supervisory approval ahead of time.

For example, if an employee at my company wants to participate, during regular business hours, in the City of Houston's Martin Luther King Jr. Day events and activities, he or she can schedule PTO; or request approval to schedule time off in order to serve at an authorized volunteer event. 

In fact, according to www.mlkday.org, an official Web site of the U.S. government, organizers for the annual King Day of Service are calling on Americans to volunteer and serve. The King Day of Service organizers say that in honor of King’s service history, this holiday should be considered as a “day on, not a day off.”

To learn more, see the official overview for the King Day of Service here. 

This U.S. holiday, signed into law by President Ronald Reagan, is observed on the third Monday in January of every year.