By Jedidiah McKeehan

If you ever hear people complain about other job professions that have great hours or get a lot of holidays, one of the jobs that comes up the most is bankers.

Why do bankers get so many holidays anyway?  Well Tennessee Code Annotated section 15-1-101 through 15-1-104 lays out the specific days that are recognized as state holidays and goes on to talk further about additional days on which banks can be closed if they so desire.

First, let’s go through the holidays recognized by the state of Tennessee.  They are: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President’s Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  If any of these days fall on a Saturday or Sunday, then the closest week day shall be substituted as the day to close business for the holiday.

The next sections of this chapter of the Tennessee code go on to discuss that banks have the option of being open on Saturday, but that they are certainly not required to be open on Saturdays.  The very next law takes it even a step further and states that banks have the option to be closed on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings if they so desire.

I have never heard of a bank operating in Tennessee that decided it would be a good idea to be closed on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.  However, if a bank decided to do such, it’s perfectly legal to do so.  Perhaps closing for all of those holidays and being able to close at other times is part of the reason everyone is so jealous of the schedules that bankers keep.

Jedidiah McKeehan is an attorney practicing in Knox County and surrounding counties.  He works in many areas, including criminal, personal injury, landlord-tenant, probate, and estate planning. Visit attorney-knoxville.com for more information about this legal issue and other legal issues.