For years, Cesar Chavez Day in California was observed on Tuesday, March 31. But Californians may hear it referred to differently in 2026.
The annual state holiday once bearing the late labor leader’s name and that fell on his birthday is now Farmworkers Day, but it will still be observed on March 31. Its name was changed after Chavez, once widely celebrated, was accused of sexual abuse earlier March, including by the renowned civil rights activist Dolores Huerta.
In the aftermath of the New York Times investigation that reported Huerta’s allegations, and accusations made by other women, leaders across California began removing Chavez’s name from local observances and making plans to rename buildings. On March 26, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law that officially designated the last day of March as Farmworkers Day instead of Cesar Chavez Day.
Cesar Chavez’s name gets scrubbed across California
Changing the holiday’s name is among many actions taken across California since the New York Times investigation was published on March 18.
Fresno County leaders renamed the holiday to Fresno County Farmworker and Agriculture Appreciation Day, and the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a provision to rename Cesar E. Chavez Day to Sacramento County Farm Workers Appreciation Day.
In Los Angeles, March 31 will be known as Farm Workers Day, and the city will review what it owns that is named after Chavez — streets, facilities and other assets — and begin a renaming process. Similarly, Los Angeles County has renamed the holiday to Farmworkers Day and will begin its efforts to review and rename its assets with Chavez’s name, such as streets, parks, county facilities and more.
In the state’s capital city of Sacramento, city leadership ordered maintenance crews to cover a statue of Chavez in the Cesar E. Chavez Plaza, which has stood a few blocks away from California’s State Capitol as a reminder of the historic march he led in the 1960s.
“We take these allegations seriously and will ensure the naming of our City facilities aligns with our values,” Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty said in a release posted on March 18. “The farmworker movement was never about one individual, and we will continue to find ways to honor farm worker struggles and the labor movement.”
The statue of Cesar Chavez remains covered in the Cesar E. Chavez Plaza on Friday, March 20, 2026, in Sacramento, CA.
A plaque honoring Chavez was removed from Victorville’s Civil Rights Memorial, according to the Victorville Daily Press, which is part of the USA TODAY Network.
Even cities that hold important meaning in Chavez’s history, like Oxnard’s La Colonia neighborhood where he grew up, and San Jose where he held his first community meetings to organize farmers, are moving forward with renouncing his legacy.
On March 25, the San Jose Rules and Open Government Committee approved the first step in Mayor Matt Mahan’s plan to remove Chavez’s name from city-owned sites, such as the Plaza de Cesar Chavez, schools and libraries, according to the San Jose Spotlight.
Far south, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria signed an executive order on March 20 that’ll take steps toward renaming Cesar Chavez Parkway in the city and remove Chavez’s name from facilities, signs, programs and more after city leaders take inventory of what assets it has that honor Chavez. The order also sought to rename Cesar Chavez Day as Farmworkers Day, too.
Los Angeles Unified School District, one of the largest school districts in the nation, announced that schools in San Fernando and El Sereno bearing Chavez’s name will be changed by fall. Meanwhile, the San Bernardino County School District said it would refer to the Cesar E. Chavez Middle School as Middle School #318 as it removes or covers school signage with the school’s name. The move, according to the district, allows officials “time for a thoughtful review.”
The Ventura County Star, which is part of the USA TODAY Network, reported that the Oxnard School District took its first step to rename a school bearing Chavez’s name.
On March 26, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond informed superintendents and charter school administrators that the California Department of Education “compiled and updated educational resources that can be used to recognize and teach about the farmworkers’ movement as a civil rights struggle that is bigger than one man.”
When did Cesar Chavez Day become a holiday in California?
California established Cesar Chavez Day as an official paid holiday for state workers in 2000, according to the Los Angeles Times and SFGATE.
Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at pbarraza@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Cesar Chavez Day still a holiday in California? What to know