Martin Luther King Day Is Now More Popular Than Presidents Day
- About 42% of U.S. businesses will give workers Jan. 15 off
- Civil rights leader’s birthday became national holiday in 1986
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Americans are more likely to get a day off to honor the legacy of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., than they are for holidays remembering Christopher Columbus or George Washington.
About 42 percent of American employers will close on Jan. 15 in observance of the civil rights leader’s birthday, according to an annual survey by Bloomberg Law. The U.S. stock market is closed, as it is for the slightly less popular Presidents Day. (It is open on Columbus Day and Veterans Day.)