Lafazan proposes more paid days off for county workers, for a total of 16 paid holidays


Nassau County government workers apparently do not get enough paid days off.

Besides sick days, vacation days and personal days, they currently are entitled to 13 paid holidays each year. Try to guess what they are.

You can check your answers in the county official holiday calendar for 2022: 


 Now Legis. Joshua Lafazan, a Woodbury Democrat who is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for Congress this year, introduced legislation today that would add three more holidays to the county work year: the Lunar New Year, Eid al-Adha and Diwali.

The Lunar New Year is an important Chinese holiday that celebrates the New Year.

Eid-al-Adha is a Muslim holiday that, according to Wikipedia involves slaughtering an animal and sharing the meat in three equal parts – for family, for relatives and friends, and for poor .

Diwali is a festival of lights and one of the major festivals celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs, again according to Wikipedia. 

Adding those holidays would bring the total paid holidays in Nassau government to 16 a year.

Lafazan also submitted separate legislation requiring the Republican administration of County Executive Bruce Blakeman to promptly engage in collective bargaining with Nassau's unions to add those holidays to their calendar.

Lafazan's explains in his proposed legislation that  "Celebrating and recognizing holidays and festivals are essential to keep traditions alive, contribute to a sense of community, and encourage mutual understanding between people who desire to learn about diverse cultures and beliefs within our county and country..."

It also doesn't hurt for a politician who is in the midst of a hotly contested race and looking for votes to give union workers more days off and to recognize voters in overlooked and marginalized communities.

The next question is whether Presiding Officer Rich Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park) puts the proposal on the legislature's calendar.  

But meanwhile, what happened to Juneteenth, which Democrats proposed as a holiday last year?

Here is the Lafazan proposal, with his proposed new holidays marked in red:

 

                                                                                 

                                                                 
                                                                                      



         



 

                  

Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 30, 2022 at 7:09 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CSEA retirees file suit to stop new contract insurance change (Updated)

Image
Civil Service Employee Association retirees today were in court attempting to stop a change in health insurance included in a new union contract scheduled to take effect Jan.1. The "Nassau Retirees Legal Fund" and eight other CSEA employees argue in a class action lawsuit filed today against Nassau and County Executive Bruce Blakeman in Nassau Supreme Court that they face  " imminent and irreparable medical, emotional, and financial harm because the County intends to deprive them of promised health benefits in 2024." The new contract negotiated between the union and Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman and ratified by members in August changes the health insurance from New York's Empire plan -- which provides platinum coverage -- to the New York Excelsior plan. The Excelsior plan is more costly for union members but less expensive for the county.  Update:  The state, meanwhile, has increased rates for the Excelsior plan -- in come cases by more than 40 pe
Read more

Nassau CSEA contract deal -- talk of the county for two days -- finally announced (UPDATED)

Image
Talk around Nassau County for the past two days has been that Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman had struck a new labor agreement, signed Monday, with the county's largest union, the Nassau Civil Service Employees Association. The CSEA, which include most non-law enforcement county employees, has been working without a contract since the end of 2017. As of June, there were 3,359 fulltime CSEA members. An announcement went out late today but it didn't say much: A spokesman for Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman did not respond to an email today asking when the CSEA deal would be announced. Everyone is looking at the CSEA because exempt employees -- county workers who are hired and fired at will -- traditionally are given the same benefits as the union members. But the exempts are not happy with some of the rumors about the agreement: one is that the CSEA will take a lesser health insurance plan in return for an upfront payment, perhaps of $1,500, for each member.
Read more

Eisenhower Park restaurant to be run by D'Amato client

Image
                                                                                A Manhasset group with ties to the food service business has won its bid to run a county-owned restaurant, cigar club, and golf concessions in Eisenhower Park,  replacing longtime operator Anthony Capetola. Capetola, a colorful Republican lawyer, has operated Carltun on the Park since 1995 through various license agreements and extensions under four different county executives, Republican and Democrat. But the county selected EGB Hospitality LLC of Manhasset from two proposals for a new 15-year operating license that begins this fall, with another five-year option, according to the deal submitted to the county legislature for approval on Monday. Lawyer Elias Trahanas, of Great Neck appears to be the lead principal in the five-member EGH group, along with his brother Bobby.  EGB Management Team Both Elias and Bobby trace their food service roots to the family-operated Golden Reef Diner in Rockville Centre, s
Read more