El Paso County Commissioners look to expand paid holidays for staff

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- El Paso County leaders are exploring ways to expand holiday time off for county employees to combat workplace burnout, retain staff and boost overall productivity.

During a Commissioners Court meeting Monday, human resources presented several proposed holiday schedule adjustments based on staff research.

According to county HR data, county employees logged more than 170,000 collective monthly leave hours in fiscal year 2026 alone. Presenters said there's an underlining a growing need for flexible time-off policies across departments.

The court reviewed options that would grant employees an additional five calendar days off. Leaders noted that county departments carry heavy workloads while interacting with the community daily.

"Our employees provide so many services to the community," said Precinct 3 County Commissioner Iliana Holguin. "They're dealing with the public every single day, and we want to make sure that we're compensating our employees accordingly," said Iliana Holguin, El Paso County Commissioner for Precinct 3.

County officials referenced studies showing that scheduled breaks significantly improve output. El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego emphasized that mental wellness directly impacts job performance.

"We know that if you take care of people, the productivity increases, efficiency increases," Judge Samaniego said. "And so we get a lot more from an employee who's happy than someone who's not happy."

Holguin noted that preventing burnout is essential, especially after tight budget cycles limited other financial incentives.

"We want to make sure that our employees aren't burning out, that they're getting the time off that they need to recharge and refresh and come back to work," Holguin said.

Commissioners did not take a final vote because holiday dates shift each year. However, they are leaning away from flexible floating holidays, which could create scheduling complexity. They are in favor of fixed calendar days.

Proposals include granting off the Friday before the Fourth of July or five consecutive days during the winter holiday break, from Dec. 26-30.

Addressing potential public concerns about delayed county services, leaders explained that a late-December break minimizes community disruption because public demand drops significantly over the holidays.

"A lot of families take time off. They travel. They're not physically here," Holguin said. "That's why we think that that's when these additional days off would have a lower impact on the public in general."

Judge Samaniego added that aligning time off during low-volume periods prevents backlogs for returning staff.

"If we could coincide with vacation being placed when the buildings are closed or when we don't have a lot of work here at the county... that would really help," Holguin said. "If you only have some employees gone, but other employees still working, then the workload grows for some employees... By having everyone take the same days off, the workload stays the same."

Officials noted that essential 24/7 operations, such as the sheriff’s office, would receive alternative scheduling accommodations. Human resources will continue refining the proposal before the Commissioners Court takes a final vote.

ABC-7 asked El Pasoeans how they felt about the additional vacation time.

"I think that it's unfortunately becoming common, you know, in this country that the average person ends up paying for the privileges of the people that we elect." Legal assistant Marissa Rojero said. Rojero told ABC-7 she only receives five days of PTO a year.

When I showed Rojero a list of all the County's paid holidays this was her reaction.

"Well, I guess you can see my reaction. I'm shocked. I mean, I'm shocked, but I'm also not surprised. Unfortunately. I think that it's kind of common that we see people that have more privileged positions and Decision makers often favor themselves. Right. And don't necessarily extend that in policy or, you know, extend that opportunity to the average person."

Other people in the community told ABC-7 how much PTO they receive.

"I'm a welder. We don't even get that many hours, days we get like six, seven holidays a year. And they're getting 25 in a year. It's not right." Oscar Zamarron, a welder told ABC-7.

"It's not. It's not right. It's not right. It's because we all should have equal, we should have equal rights and we don't. It's more favor to the people that work in the office." Added Zamarron.

While county officials point to burnout prevention and seasonal slowdowns to justify the expansion, everyday workers facing limited paid time off continue to press leaders to balance municipal benefits with public accessibility and service availability.