Yup, I teach in a private university, and in graduate school we are not funded by government grants. So, we do not have to abide by federal regulations.
I went to a little private college and we always had class on holidays. The only reason I'd even remember that it was labor day etc was because the mail wouldn't arrive. I have to work tomorrow-- and because we're closed Tues/Wed it's going to be month end. It won't exactly be a picnic as that's the busiest day of the month for me. It should be an adventure of a day since it'll be my first day back in a week.