Vacation plans ruined by midweek July 4th

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For some companies, staff shortages prevent them from granting days off.

COLUMBUS (AP) — A midweek Fourth of July holiday means that some Ohio workers are taking the whole week off, rather than just the usual day or two.

About 93 percent of businesses will be closed on the Fourth, the Society for Human Resource Management said.

But it will be business as usual for employees of companies with international ties as they report to work.

"People search [our databases] from all over the world, and, of course, most people don't celebrate the Fourth of July," said Eric Shively, a spokesman for Chemical Abstracts Service, which publishes scientific information and journals from its Columbus office.

The same is true for local companies like AEP Ohio and Worthington-based Buckeye Heating & Cooling, where service is always needed.

Buckeye technicians can expect calls on the holiday from people who are hosting parties and need immediate service, said Diane Platt, service manager.

Park National Bank branches in southwest and central Ohio will close at 7 p.m. Tuesday and reopen at 7:30 a.m. Thursday. It's a particularly busy time for banks, with customers cashing beginning-of-the-month retirement and government checks, said spokeswoman Bethany White.

Staff shortages

But an increasing number of companies — which in previous years would have given workers a day off for the Fourth — are no longer able to do so because of slimmed-down staff.

"Companies don't have a lot of bench strength that they can rely on right now, so I think for many people, it'll just be that Wednesday that they have off," said John Challenger, chief executive of the employment consulting firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas Inc.

Even so, plenty of people are planning to hit the road.

A record 41.1 million Americans will leave home during the holiday period that began Friday and ends Sunday, AAA said. That's up slightly from the 40.8 million who traveled last year, the automobile association estimated.

But the group said this year's increase is lower than last year's rise because of the holiday's midweek timing.

Monday, July 2, 2007