In August 2021, the National Assembly deputies approved, in the first debate, a bill to declare August 31st, the Day of the Black Person and Afro-Costa Rican Culture, free for the working population.
“The declaration as a non-compulsory holiday is a necessary recognition and responds to a wide clamour of the Limonense population with the purpose of consolidating this celebration,” said Eduardo Cruickshank, proposing deputy.
In addition, this would allow broad participation of all the inhabitants of the country in the activities carried out around this date, the legislator continued. In this way, August 31st would be added to the other two holidays on the calendar that are non-mandatory – August 2nd, Day of the Virgin of the Angels, and December 1st, which commemorates the abolition of the army.
On November 22nd 2021, Law 10,050 came into force. This law declares August 31st as an official national holiday and commemorates the “Day of the Black Person and Afro-Costa Rican Culture”.
Employees who receive daily or weekly payment (in non-commercial activities), are not entitled to receive payment of this holiday if they do not work that day, but if they work during this non-mandatory payment holiday, then they will be entitled to receive their ordinary daily salary. In these cases, overtime payment during this type of holiday is equivalent to time and a half (1.5) the regular hourly wage.
For Cruickshank, the absence of a declaration of this date as a legal holiday has been an impediment to the participation of many people from Limon and other Costa Ricans interested in the issue of Afro-descendants.