Executive Order 13281: Half-Day Closing of Executive Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government on Tuesday, December 24, 2002
President: George W. Bush
Closed executive departments and agencies for a half day on December 24, 2002, while allowing agency heads to retain essential operations and staff.
Status: Completed/expired.
Is Executive Order 13281 still in effect? No. Completed; one-day administrative closure.
What does Executive Order 13281 do?
The order assigned these duties: Executive departments and agencies, agency heads and the Office of Personnel Management — Closed executive departments and agencies for a half day on December 24, 2002, while allowing agency heads to retain essential operations and staff.
Checked the one-day federal closure against the order text. It applied to executive departments and agencies on December 24, 2002 and is recorded as a completed, date-specific action.
Before and after
Before the order
The President periodically used executive authority to excuse federal employees for holiday observances while preserving essential services.
After the order
Agencies implemented the closure and applied applicable pay and leave rules; the order expired after the specified day.
Later executive orders, statutes and agency rules could amend or replace the presidential direction.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Executive departments and agencies, agency heads and the Office of Personnel Management | Closed executive departments and agencies for a half day on December 24, 2002, while allowing agency heads to retain essential operations and staff. | Half-day closure on December 24, 2002 |
What happened next
EO 13281 signed.
OPM — administrative leave and holiday guidance
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
The order was limited by statutes governing pay, leave, emergency operations and essential functions and created no continuing entitlement.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
- GovInfo — official executive-order record (opens in a new tab) Official record
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on October 2, 2026. How we research →