Members of Congress file past the flag-draped casket of the late President Jimmy Carter in the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday. Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom.
Many schools will be closed again because of the lingering snow. Federal workers will have the day off Thursday, which has been designated a national day of mourning for former President Jimmy Carter.
But state workers will be on the clock.
“State government will be open tomorrow,” said a spokesperson for Gov. Wes Moore (D) in a text Wednesday afternoon.
It was in response to questions raised by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME Maryland Council 3), which says it represents 45,000 state employees. According to the union, state law says that a legal holiday in the state includes “each other day that the President of the United States or the Governor designates for general cessation of business” in addition to the other holidays on the calendar — such as Memorial Day, Juneteenth and Thanksgiving Day. Labor contracts for state employees also have this language, the union said.
Carter died on Dec. 29, 2024, at age 100. He has been lying in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda since Tuesday, and his body will be taken to the Washington National Cathedral on Thursday for an official state funeral.
On the day Carter died, President Joe Biden ordered flags across the country to be flown at half-staff for 30 days, and he declared Jan. 9 a national day of mourning. He later issued an executive order saying all federal offices would be closed on Jan. 9 as “a mark of respect” for the late president.
Union officials said that declaration triggered the provision in state law that said Thursday should be a day off for state workers, too. If workers have to report to the office, they argued, they should get holiday pay.
But the governor’s spokesperson said the law applies to set federal holidays, and that the day of mourning fo Carter does not qualify — meaning it’s a regular work day.
The union noted Wednesday that former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) issued an executive order closing state agencies and offices on Dec. 3, 2018, to mourn the death of former President George W. H. Bush, who died at age 94. The state day off coincided with the national day of mourning for Bush, according to news reports at the time.
While state offices will be open, that doesn’t mean Maryland will be ignoring the passing of Carte: Moore and first lady Dawn Flythe Moore are scheduled to attend the former president’s state funeral at Washington National Cathedral on Thurday morning, according to the governor’s public schedule.