Which state first granted Labour Day legal status as holiday?

Which state first granted Labour Day legal status as holiday? Oregon passed on February 21, 1887 the first legislation in the country to officially recognize the “workingman’s holiday”.

Labor Day was first celebrated five years earlier, on Tuesday, September 5, 1882 in New York City. The Central Labor Union urged other labor organizations to recognize the holiday, which was moved to the first Monday in September in 1884. Labor Day gained acceptance around the country with the growth of the labor movement.

In 1894 the United States Congress passed an act declaring Labor Day a legal holiday nationwide.

State governments use their discretion in declaring a holiday

Depending on where you live in India, May Day may or may not have been a holiday for you. That’s because State governments use their discretion in declaring a holiday on May Day since it is not a national holiday across the country.

May Day, also known as the International Workers’ Day, originated in 1884, when the Federation of Organised Trades and Labour Unions of the United States and Canada demanded an eight-hour workday.

“Workers went on a strike demanding an eight-hour workday, which led to the Haymarket Riots of 1886 in Chicago. It eventually resulted in the official sanctioning of the eight-hour workday. The day is marked as a public holiday in over 80 countries to celebrate the accomplishments of the working class,” said Dr. Otojit Kshetrimayum, Associate Fellow and Coordinator, V.V. Giri National Labour Institute under the Union Labour and Employment Ministry.

In India, Labour Day was first celebrated on May 1, 1923 on the Triplicane beach in Chennai and the celebrations were organised by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan, founded by Malayapuram Singaravelu Chettiar, one of the founders of the Communist Party of India.