Email:

Christmas Day

I got an email from a Hoboken Nanny named Erica.  Here's her email:

"I have already taken all of my vacation for the year and to make up for it the family wants me to work on christmas.  Its a legal holiday and I celebrate christmas so I should have it off.  What do I do?"

Well, Erica, simply tell them you are not working.  If they also celebrate Christmas then there is no reason to have you work.  If they don't celebrate Christmas then you tell them that you do celebrate and have plans with family.  You need to tell them that it's a legal holiday that you would get off regardless of using your holiday time.  Case closed.

And Parents, wtf are you thinking asking your Nanny to work on a legal holiday?  You want her to work, then guess what?  Holiday pay kicks in.  Regardless if you celebrate Christmas.  It's a holiday.  You pay holiday rates for Christmas, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day.  It's one thing to work on Kwanzaa or Hanukkah since those holiday's last for days.  It's another to work on Jesus' Birthday.