Uniform Monday Holiday Act

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The Uniform Monday Holiday Act (public law no. 90-363) is a United States law that amended the federal holiday provisions of the United States Code to establish the observance of certain holidays on Mondays. The Act was signed into law on June 28, 1968 and took effect on January 1, 1971.^[1]

The Act moved Memorial Day, Washington's Birthday, and Veterans Day from fixed dates to designated Mondays and created a new holiday, Columbus Day, which also falls on a Monday.^[2] The law was designed to give federal employees more three-day weekends.^[2] Veterans Day was removed from this list of Monday holidays when it was moved back to its traditional date of November 11, by act of Congress in 1975, effective 1978.

Contrary to popular perception, the Act did not establish "Presidents' Day," nor did it combine the observance of Lincoln's Birthday with Washington's. ^[2]

The holiday dates that this act established were as follows:

George Washington's Birthday: 3rd Monday in February (formerly Feb. 22)
Memorial Day: last Monday in May (formerly May 30)
Columbus Day: 2nd Monday in October (formerly not a federal holiday, but observed on Oct. 12 in some states)
Veterans Day: 4th Monday in October (formerly Nov. 11, and moved back to Nov. 11 in 1978)