Happy Lincoln’s Birthday.
If you work for the State of Connecticut, you may be enjoying your second February paid holiday in just four days.
Most Americans observe a single Presidents’ Day. Connecticut does something different: we close state offices twice — once for Lincoln’s Birthday and again for Washington’s Birthday. According to the most recent edition of The Council of State Governments’ Book of the States, most states consolidated the observances decades ago. Connecticut remains among a small minority that still provides both as paid holidays.
History is priceless. Payroll is not.
Using the most recent complete statewide payroll data available (calendar year 2025), Connecticut’s biweekly payroll averaged approximately $232.7 million — or roughly $23 million per workday. Two February presidential holidays represent about $46 million in total payroll value.
Now, to be fair: not everyone is off. Of roughly 57,000 state employees, approximately 36,000 are classified as essential — meaning they work holidays as part of their regular duties.
That means roughly 37% of the workforce is not scheduled to work during statewide closures.
Apply that proportion to two paid holidays, and the value of paid closure time comes to roughly $17 million.
Then add overtime. During the two 2025 pay periods covering Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthdays, overtime ran about $3.4 million higher than the following non-holiday pay period — roughly $1.7 million per holiday day.
Taken together, that’s approximately $20 million or more in holiday-related payroll exposure for a two-president, two-day February shutdown.
To be clear, this is not $20 million in new spending created solely because the holidays exist. Most employees are salaried and would be paid during the pay period regardless. But it is the value of paid statewide closures, plus measurable overtime spikes, while much of the private sector continues operating.
Connecticut is not unusual for offering 13 paid holidays overall. What stands out is the duplication. Most states consolidated February observances decades ago, honoring both presidents with a single Presidents’ Day.
No one is suggesting Lincoln or Washington should go unrecognized.
The question is simpler: in 2026, does Connecticut still need a two-president, two-day government shutdown in the middle of February?
Government calendars, like budgets, deserve periodic review.
Even George Washington believed in efficiency.
