The New York Times will be observing Juneteenth as a paid holiday this year.
The holiday, which takes place on June 19 and commemorates the ending of slavery in the U.S., will be offered as a paid day off for “eligible employees” as a gesture of “support for [their] Black colleagues at this moment of global reckoning,” according to a memo shared on Twitter by a Times journalist. For staffers who choose not to celebrate the holiday or otherwise are unable to take the day off, the paid day off will still be available to them through the end of this year “to observe a day of religious or cultural significance to [them].”
The Times joins a number of other companies — including Vox Media, Twitter, Nike and the NFL — that are now recognizing the holiday for their employees. Postmates founder and CEO Bastian Lehmann said his company would be celebrating Juneteenth “permanently,” and “not just in response to the moment.”
A spokesperson for the Times did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
The @nytimes is observing Juneteenth as a paid holiday this year. We have much more work to do on racial equity, but I appreciate the gesture from management. Hopefully it’s a sign of more meaningful change to come. pic.twitter.com/3aVVDm2nG4
— John Eligon (@jeligon) June 12, 2020