(a) All legal holidays enumerated herein shall be allowed as paid days off, or holiday pay as set forth in subdivision (b) of this section shall be allowed in lieu thereof. The days prescribed by law for the observance of New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday, Lincoln's Birthday, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Election Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day shall be observed as holidays. A holiday falling on a Saturday or a Sunday shall be observed on the preceding Friday or following Monday subject to the operational or staffing needs of the court or agency.

An employee who is entitled to time off with pay on days observed as holidays by the Unified Court System as an employer will receive, at such employee's option, additional compensation for time worked on such days or compensatory time off. Such additional compensation for each such full day worked will be at the rate of 1/10 of the employee's biweekly rate of compensation. Such additional compensation for less than a full day of such work will be prorated. Such rate of compensation will include geographic, location, inconvenience and shift pay as may be appropriate to the place or hours worked. In no event will an employee be entitled to such additional compensation or compensatory time off unless he or she has been scheduled or directed to work. An employee required to work on Thanksgiving Day (the fourth Thursday in November), Christmas Day (December 25) or New Year's Day (January 1) shall receive a 100 percent cash premium for all hours worked on such day in addition to any holiday pay or compensatory time off granted pursuant to this subdivision.