Most Missouri state employees to be off on Thanksgiving and on Thanksgiving Friday

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Most of Jefferson City’s 14,000 state employees will be off on Thanksgiving and on Thanksgiving Friday, under an executive order signed by Governor Mike Parson.

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Missouri Governor Mike Parson and state Department of Agriculture director Chris Chinn ride around the state fairgrounds in Sedalia on a golf cart (August 8, 2024 file photo courtesy of the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s Twitter page)

The governor has signed executive orders closing state offices on Thanksgiving Friday all seven years he’s been in office. Governor Parson has written a letter to all 47,000 state employees, saying “friends, family and the next generations are what it’s all about. We hope this well-deserved day off allows you an opportunity to remember the good in your lives and reflect on all that you do in service to our state.” The governor tells state employees that our economy is strong, our state is strong and Missourians are strong.

Governor Parson has made state employee pay a top priority: his administration has increased state employee pay by more than 20 percent since he took office in 2018. Thanksgiving Day itself is already one of Missouri’s 13 official state holidays.

Some Missouri state employees who work in emergency services, such as the Missouri State Highway Patrol and corrections officers, will be working during the Thanksgiving holiday.