Miss Piggy, Santa Claus, and President Obama laugh on stage during the national Christmas tree lighting ceremony on the Ellipse south of the White House Dec. 3.(Photo: Olivier Douliery, Getty Images)
WASHINGTON<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— Merry Christmas, federal workers:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>President Obama says you can go home early on Christmas Eve.
Obama signed the executive order Friday, declaring that "All executive branch departments and agencies of the federal government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty for the last half of the scheduled workday," on Dec. 24.
The order allows agencies to make an exception "for reasons of national security, defense, or other public need."
The half-day is<span style="color: Red;">*</span>less than what many federal employees wanted. A
petition posted on the White House web site<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— signed by 26.365 people as of Friday<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— asks for a full day off.
"Federal employees work extremely hard year after year to carry out our mission statement as public servants," the petition reads. "Although we are a family at work, giving federal employees Christmas Eve off to spend with their families at home would not only be a wonderful gift from our president but would also boost morale in the workplace and within ourselves."
Christmas falls on a Friday this year. Last year,
Obama gave federal employees a full day off on Dec. 26, which was also on Friday.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>During his presidency,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>George W. Bush gave federal employees four days off during Christmas week.
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