Why can my observed holiday date be different?

Weekend holidays, substitute days, collective agreements, and company policies can move the day you actually receive off. Add the date supplied by your employer as a Company Day Off before optimizing.

How are the 10, 15, and 20-day PTO results calculated?

They are generated by Holiday Optimizer's Balanced strategy for 2028, using a standard Monday-to-Friday workweek, the holiday dates on this page, and no pre-booked or company-specific days. Your personalized result can differ.

🇺🇸 United States · regional calendar

California public holidays and PTO planner

This planning baseline starts with U.S. federal observed dates, then applies California's source-reviewed state-government differences: it adds César Chávez Day and the day after Thanksgiving. The exact dates below feed the same PTO optimizer used by the main planner.

Planning baseline—not an employer calendar. Confirm paid holidays and observed dates with your workplace before requesting leave.

2028 public holidays: 12(+1 vs. U.S. federal)

Exact dates

2027 and 2028 holiday calendars

“Observed” means the weekday used in place of a weekend holiday. Dates shown as weekends may require an employer-selected substitute day.

California public holidays 2027

California public holidays for 2027
Date	Day	Holiday	Planning note
January 1	Friday	New Year's Day	Calendar holiday
January 18	Monday	Martin Luther King Jr. Day	Calendar holiday
February 15	Monday	Presidents' Day	Calendar holiday
March 31	Wednesday	César Chávez Day	Calendar holiday
May 31	Monday	Memorial Day	Calendar holiday
June 18	Friday	Juneteenth (observed)	Observed weekday
July 5	Monday	Independence Day (observed)	Observed weekday
September 6	Monday	Labor Day	Calendar holiday
November 11	Thursday	Veterans Day	Calendar holiday
November 25	Thursday	Thanksgiving Day	Calendar holiday
November 26	Friday	Day after Thanksgiving	Calendar holiday
December 24	Friday	Christmas Day (observed)	Observed weekday
December 31	Friday	New Year's Day (observed)	Observed weekday

California public holidays 2028

California public holidays for 2028
Date	Day	Holiday	Planning note
January 1	Saturday	New Year's Day	Falls on a weekend
January 17	Monday	Martin Luther King Jr. Day	Calendar holiday
February 21	Monday	Presidents' Day	Calendar holiday
March 31	Friday	César Chávez Day	Calendar holiday
May 29	Monday	Memorial Day	Calendar holiday
June 19	Monday	Juneteenth	Calendar holiday
July 4	Tuesday	Independence Day	Calendar holiday
September 4	Monday	Labor Day	Calendar holiday
November 11	Saturday	Veterans Day	Falls on a weekend
November 23	Thursday	Thanksgiving Day	Calendar holiday
November 24	Friday	Day after Thanksgiving	Calendar holiday
December 25	Monday	Christmas Day	Calendar holiday

Generated by the product

What different PTO allowances produce in 2028

These are actual Balanced-strategy outputs—not hand-written multipliers. They assume Saturday and Sunday are free and use only the calendar above.

10 PTO days available

39 days off

PTO used: 10
Breaks generated: 10
Days off per PTO day: 3.9×

Exact PTO dates for 2028

January 18; February 22; April 3; May 30; July 3; September 5; October 2; October 30; November 27; December 26.

Strong opportunities

Nov 23–27: 5 days for 1 PTO
Jan 15–18: 4 days for 1 PTO

Build my 10-day plan

15 PTO days available

50 days off

PTO used: 15
Breaks generated: 12
Days off per PTO day: 3.3×

Exact PTO dates for 2028

January 18; February 22; April 3; May 1; May 30; July 3; August 7; September 5; October 2; October 30; November 27; December 26–29.

Strong opportunities

Nov 23–27: 5 days for 1 PTO
Jan 15–18: 4 days for 1 PTO

Build my 15-day plan

20 PTO days available

59 days off

PTO used: 20
Breaks generated: 12
Days off per PTO day: 3×

Exact PTO dates for 2028

January 18; February 22; April 3; May 1; May 30; July 3; July 5–7; August 7; September 5; October 2; October 27; November 20–22; December 26–29.

Strong opportunities

Jan 15–18: 4 days for 1 PTO
Feb 19–22: 4 days for 1 PTO

Build my 20-day plan

Questions about this calendar

Are all California holidays guaranteed paid days off?: No. This federal-plus-state benchmark is not a promise that every private employer or state agency closes on every date shown. Confirm your workplace calendar before requesting leave. Always compare this calendar with your employment agreement and workplace calendar.
Why can my observed holiday date be different?: Weekend holidays, substitute days, collective agreements, and company policies can move the day you actually receive off. Add the date supplied by your employer as a Company Day Off before optimizing.
How are the 10, 15, and 20-day PTO results calculated?: They are generated by Holiday Optimizer's Balanced strategy for 2028, using a standard Monday-to-Friday workweek, the holiday dates on this page, and no pre-booked or company-specific days. Your personalized result can differ.

Regional holidays can change which PTO dates produce the strongest result.

Browse all 50 states and Washington, D.C. →

Before requesting leave

This federal-plus-state benchmark is not a promise that every private employer or state agency closes on every date shown. Confirm your workplace calendar before requesting leave.

Official sources

Source references updated August 8, 2026

California state holiday calendar
The California Department of General Services publishes state-employee holiday and payroll calendars.
U.S. federal holiday schedule
The Office of Personnel Management publishes federal observed dates and weekend in-lieu rules.
U.S. Department of Labor holiday-pay guidance
Federal guidance explains that private-sector holiday time and pay generally depend on the employer agreement.

This page tracks California's general public holiday calendar, sourced from date-holidays under CC BY-SA 3.0. It does not track agency-specific calendars—state agencies, universities, and departments (corrections, transportation, and university systems are common examples) may observe a different official holiday schedule. If you're checking days off for a specific agency, verify directly with that agency.

United States PTO strategy

A full strategy walkthrough for planning PTO around United States holidays.

How this was built

Dates begin with the date-holidays dataset, are filtered against the official sources above, and include documented one-off changes. PTO totals come from the production optimizer.

Read the full methodology →

2027 and 2028 holiday calendars

California public holidays 2027

California public holidays 2028

What different PTO allowances produce in 2028

Questions about this calendar

Continue through United States calendars