Holidays, General Provisions.
Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 350-2
in effect350-2. Holidays, General Provisions.
1. WEEKEND HOLIDAY. Whenever Juneteenth Day (June 19) falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday shall be observed as a holiday. Whenever Independence Day (July 4) falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday shall be observed as a holiday. Whenever New Year's Day (January 1) and Christmas Day (December 25) fall on a Saturday, the following Monday shall be observed as a holiday. When New Year's Day, Juneteenth Day, Independence Day or Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, the following Monday shall be observed as a holiday.
2. FIRE DEPARTMENT. a. Employees Working 24-Hour Shifts. a-1. Holiday Compensation. Effective pay period 1, 2026, an employee working 24-hour shifts shall receive 96 hours off per calendar year in lieu of holidays or holiday pay, earned at a rate of 8 hours per month. This holiday time-off shall be taken in the calendar year in which it was earned.
a-2. Unused Holiday Compensation. An employee on authorized injury leave as a result of a duty-incurred injury may use holiday time-off scheduled during the period of such leave provided the employee notifies his or her supervisor orally of this fact prior to the start of the holiday time-off. An employee on authorized injury leave as a result of a duty-incurred injury not using holiday time-off scheduled during the period of the employee’s leave, because he or she did not make a request for it, shall have his or her unused holiday time-off rescheduled by the fire department administration when the employee returns to duty if it is possible to do so before the end of the calendar year. If the fire department administration is unable to reschedule all of the employee’s remaining unused holiday time-off before the end of the calendar year, the employee shall be entitled to receive a lump-sum payment equivalent to the dollar value of the remaining unused holiday time-off at the end of the calendar year, computed on the basis of the employee’s hourly base rate in effect at the time for which the holiday time-off was originally scheduled. This lump sum payment shall be made as soon as is administratively practicable following the end of the calendar year. The lump-sum payment shall not be construed as being part of the employee’s base salary and shall not be included in the computation of any fringe benefits. The lump-sum payment shall not have any sum deducted for pension benefits nor shall it be included in any computation establishing pension benefits or payment. When authorized by the fire department administration, an employee may elect to carry over into the next succeeding calendar year any remaining unused holiday time-off that the fire department administration was unable to reschedule by the end of the calendar year, instead of the lump-sum payment provided for in this subparagraph. The scheduling of carried-over holiday time-off shall be subject to availability of the dates requested by the employee, require prior approval by the employee’s supervisor and in no way affect the scheduling of other employee holiday time-off.
b. Computation. For purposes of computation benefits under par. a, an employee on the fire department payroll for at least 14 days in a calendar month shall be deemed as having been on the fire department payroll for the full calendar month. If the employee is on the fire department payroll for less than 14 days in a calendar month, exclusive of any furlough time, the employee shall be deemed as not having been on the payroll at all during the calendar month.
2.5. PUBLIC WORKS. a. Floating holiday. As determined by the commissioner of public works, employees assigned to the sanitation services section or the fleet services dispatch section may receive one day off per calendar year in lieu of the New Year’s Eve holiday or holiday pay. This holiday time-off shall be taken in the following calendar year. Employees assigned to the drop-off centers may receive one day off in lieu of a recognized city holiday when a recognized city holiday under s. 350-1 falls on a workweek day and the drop-off center is closed to the public. This holiday time-off shall be taken in the current calendar year.
b. Eligibility. To be eligible, an employee shall have been on paid status for at least 2 work days during the calendar week the holiday occurs.
3. STATUTORY COMPLIANCE. Any statutory provisions establishing legal holidays on days other than those set forth under the definition of the term "holiday" in s. 350-1 shall not be observed in a manner resulting in a shorter workweek for general city employees. If the state of Wisconsin enacts a statute under which some or all of the holidays enumerated in s. 350-1 are established or observed as so-called Monday holidays, the city will move to observation of such law, but the conformance to state law shall not increase or diminish the number of holidays with pay granted annually.
Source: City of Milwaukee Legislative Reference Bureau, Milwaukee City Charter and Code of Ordinances (city.milwaukee.gov master PDFs)URL: https://city.milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Groups/ccClerk/Ordinances/Volume-3/CH350-sub1.pdf#page=1Fetched: 10/26/2026