The holidays listed below shall be observed as follows:
(1) Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday shall be observed on the third Monday of January.
(2) George Washington’s birthday, Presidents” Day, and Puerto Rican Illustrious Persons Day, that is: Eugenio María de Hostos, José de Diego, Luis Muñoz-Rivera, José Celso Barbosa, Ramón Emeterio Betances, Román Baldorioty de Castro, Luis Muñoz-Marín, Ernesto Ramos-Antonini, and Luis A. Ferré, shall be observed on the third Monday of February.
(3) Abolition Day shall be observed on March 22.
(4) Memorial Day shall be observed on the last Monday of May.
(5) Independence Day shall be observed on July 4.
(6) Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Constitution Day shall be observed on July 25.
(7) Columbus Day shall be observed on the second Monday of October.
(8) Labor Day shall be observed on the first Monday of September.
(9) Veterans Day shall be observed on November 11.
(10) Discovery of Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican Culture Day shall be observed on November 19.
The University of Puerto Rico and other private institutions of higher education may, alternatively, observe the holidays mentioned in subsections one (1) through nine (9) on the Friday immediately preceding the days in question.
The Governor, or the person he designates, may establish through a proclamation that a certain holiday shall be observed on the Monday or Friday closest to such holiday whenever the need to maintain the continuous operation of the Government so requires. Provided, That said proclamation shall be issued annually, not later than the fifteenth (15th) of January, and the same shall contain all the holidays listed in this section. In case any of them is omitted, or if the proclamation is not issued within the aforesaid term, the days contained herein shall be understood to prevail.
History —June 27, 1969, No. 88, p. 246; July 30, 1974, No. 260, Part 2, p. 298; July 26, 1979, No. 8, p. 945; June 13, 1980, No. 129, p. 487; Dec. 24, 1991, No. 121, § 1; July 11, 1994, No. 39, § 1; July 6, 1995, No. 76, § 1; Dec. 1, 2010, No. 182, § 1; July 29, 2014, No. 111, § 2.