Hospital System in Georgia Replaces Christmas Eve with Juneteenth on Paid Holiday Calendar

Emory Healthcare replaced Christmas Eve with Juneteenth on the paid holiday calendar for employees last week, according to a memo from the hospital’s CEO, Joon S. Lee.

The healthcare system, which displays “We embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion” on its website as one of its values, is the largest in the Peach State, with more than 425 provider locations and 24,000 employees.

In the memo to employees, first obtained by Atlanta First News, Lee cites employee feedback as the reason for replacing Christmas Eve with Juneteenth as a paid holiday.

Emory Healthcare replaces Christmas Eve with Juneteenth as a paid holiday

This will affect over 24k employees pic.twitter.com/5g1X8U89Al

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“Thanks to your feedback, the Executive Leadership Team and I have decided to make Juneteenth (June 19th) an EHC observed holiday. We hope this will allow more opportunities for celebration, reflection, and education,” the memo states.

“To minimize impact to patient care, we will not be adding another paid holiday to our calendar,” the memo goes on to clarify. “Rather, beginning January 2024, we will remove Christmas Eve from our holiday calendar and replace it with Juneteenth. However, team members still have the flexibility and option to use paid time off for Christmas Eve.”

The memo goes on to note that the change will allow employees to earn extra holiday pay for working on Juneteenth but not on Christmas Eve.

“At its heart, diversity, equity and inclusion at Emory Healthcare (EHC) is about creating an environment of true belonging for our patients and team members, while ensuring equitable outcomes for all,” the memo adds.

In a statement to Atlanta First News, NAACP DeKalb County President Edwina Clanton expressed frustration at the healthcare system’s move, saying, “I don’t understand why they can’t do both,” adding that employees should have at least been given a choice as to which paid holiday they would have preferred be nixed to accommodate Juneteenth.

One Emory healthcare provider also told the outlet, “I think, in general, everyone at Emory is pretty frustrated right now. You can’t replace one for the other. It’s completely inappropriate. It’s essentially pitting a Christian holiday against something that’s to be celebratory for everyone – but specifically for our Black colleagues.”

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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network.