Jessica Estepa

USA TODAY

Interior Department employees, rejoice: Your Easter weekend will start 59 minutes early.

A memo sent out to employees on Friday said they would get to leave early, as authorized by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.

"The Secretary would like to express his deep appreciation to each member of the DOI team for his or her dedication, hard work and commitment," the memo reads.

An Interior spokesman said this is far from the first time federal employees were allowed to leave early before a holiday.

Why such a specific number? It's known as the 59-minute rule. It's not actually a rule, the Federal Times once noted, but rather a custom that supervisors and managers mind when they let their employees have a bit of time off prior to a major holiday (though not necessarily a federal holiday). You'll find mention of it in a numberofgovernmentdocuments.

So, 59 minutes it is.