Getty Union members, activists and their supporters march through the city during their annual May Day procession in support of workers' rights and immigrant freedom in Los Angeles on May 1, 2019. - May Day has been an international workers' celebration for more than 130 years.
It’s Labor Day weekend 2020 and you may be wondering if you are able to go to the bank on Labor Day, which is September 7 this year. Here’s what you need to know about banking hours during this holiday weekend.
Banks Are Generally Closed on Labor Day
According to the Federal Reserve Bank website, Labor Day is a holiday and it will therefore be closed. Banks generally take their cue from the Federal Reserve Bank, so most banks should be closed as well.
According to Banks.org, the only banks that may be open on Labor Day are branches located inside major retailers, like grocery stores or Walmart locations. Call your local branch to find out if that is the case where you live.
But Banks.org reports that all major banks — Bank of America, Bank of the West, Capital One Bank, Chase Bank, Citibank, Citizens Bank, Comerica Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC Bank, PNC Bank, SunTrust Bank, TD Bank, and Wells Fargo — are closed on Labor Day 2020.
Labor Day Is a Celebration of American Workers
There are differing reports about how Labor Day got started. But according to Office Holidays, the Central Labor Union secretary Matthew Maguire in New York City first proposed the holiday in 1882. But it was not adopted as an official national holiday until 1894 when Congress officially declared the first Monday in September a legal, national holiday.
According to the Department of Labor’s website, Labor Day is a “creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”
Labor Day used to be observed with large parades and speeches given about the “economic and civic significance of the holiday.” But nowadays, Labor Day is more often observed with picnics, concerts, festivals, camping, and other outdoor activities as a demarcation of summer turning to fall.
Experts Warn About Exposure During Labor Day Weekend
This year, many town- or city-organized celebrations have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic inhibiting the safety of mass gatherings. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has warned residents against getting together in large groups over the weekend.
“This is not a Labor Day weekend that will be full of celebrations,” Garcetti told the Los Angeles Times. “You need to cancel all plans for gatherings.”
“It’s possible we could go back up again if people don’t follow the guidelines,” said Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, a medical epidemiologist and infectious disease expert at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.
Acting State Public Health Officer Dr. Erica Pan said, “The safest thing for you to do is to stay at home, but if you do choose to be with others, please keep it outside.”
“Together we need to get through Labor Day weekend, really protecting one another,” said Dr. Deborah Birx, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, in a press conference, adding, “Please don’t have parties where people do not have masks on. Just because they are a neighbor doesn’t mean they couldn’t be infected.”
“We don’t want to see a repeat of the surges that we have seen following the holiday weekends,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “We don’t want to see a surge under any circumstances, but particularly as we go on the other side of Labor Day and enter into the fall. We want to go into that with a running start in the right direction. We don’t want to go into that with another surge that we have to turn around again.”
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