Washington County and Teamsters Local 320, the union that represents the county’s 48 probation officers, on Tuesday reached a tentative agreement on a contract for 2024 and 2025.

The agreement reflects the same package of paid holidays as most other county employees currently enjoy, including Juneteenth. The agreement “transitions Christmas Eve to a floating holiday, which allows employees to take time off on a day that is important to them,” county officials said in a statement.

Probation officers in January voted to authorize a strike over whether Juneteenth should be a paid holiday for them.

Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, became a federal holiday in 2021. Two years later, Minnesota became the 26th state to recognize the holiday, but it is not a paid holiday for all government workers.

“The county is pleased to have reached this agreement with our probation officers that includes a competitive wage and benefit package and brings their paid holidays in line with the rest of the organization,” Washington County Administrator Kevin Corbid said in the statement. “The county values the important contributions our probation officers make to keep our community safe. With this agreement, our staff can move forward with providing the exceptional services the people of Washington County expect, deserve and depend on.”

The agreement includes a memorandum that formalizes staffing on Christmas Eve “to ensure court and public safety needs are met,” according to the statement.

Probation officers last year got 11 paid holidays off: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas.

Under the tentative contract they would get all the same days except Christmas Eve with the addition of Juneteenth and one floating holiday.

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