On June 18th, 2021, the U.S. government observed Juneteenth National Independence Day as a federal holiday for the first time. Government agencies were closed, and their staff were paid for the day.

Contractors working in the same buildings however, were not guaranteed pay. At the USCIS Vermont Service Center, the company stepped up and did the right thing. However, workers at the USCIS Nebraska service center were sent home without pay. We believe it was not the intention of our Senators and Congresspeople, nor of President Joe Biden, to send workers home without pay. They were not even allowed to work optionally, as their workplaces were shut down in observance. These are the same workers who were deemed essential during the pandemic and helped keep the government running.

We believe anything less than giving this holiday the treatment any other federal holiday receives is disrespectful to both the spirit of the holiday and to all of the workers who were forgotten about on June 18th, 2021.

Therefore, this petition implores Information Technology Coalition, Inc to provide a full day's pay for Juneteenth. We also call upon Senators Sasse and Fischer, and Congressman Fortenberry, who supported the enactment of the holiday, to contact ITC and USCIS to fix this problem and get our essential workers taken care of.