*Paid Work Leave* Americans Lose Big Compared To Rest Of The World
Last edited Mon Dec 24, 2018, 12:22 AM - Edit history (1)
"American Workers Lose When Compared to the Rest of the World," by Mark E. Andersen, Daily Kos, 12/23/18.
It is the end of the year. Those of us lucky enough to have vacation days have either used them up for the year or have been hoarding them for the holidays. In industrialized countries around the world vacation days are mandated by their respective governments. *In the United States, there are no guaranteed paid days off. The ten Federal and State Holidays are workdays for the vast majority of us.
*Of the 10 federal holidays listed below, no employer, except the federal government, or unless bound by a union contract, has to provide these holidays as a paid day off:
•New Year's Day (January 1).
•Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Third Monday in January).
•Washington's Birthday (Third Monday in February).
•Memorial Day (Last Monday in May).
•Independence Day (July 4).
•Labor Day (First Monday in September).
•Columbus Day (Second Monday in October).
•Veterans Day (November 11).
•Thanksgiving Day (Fourth Thursday in November).
•Christmas Day (December 25).
When I worked retail many years ago if you were off on Memorial Day or Labor Day, you were not getting paid.
*The United States is the only advanced economy that does not guarantee its workers any paid vacation time, according to a report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research. As a result, 1 in 4 private-sector workers in the U.S. do not receive any paid vacation or paid holidays.
In a report prepared by the Center for Economic and Policy Research found that,
European workers are guaranteed at least 20 paid vacation days per year, with 25 and even 30 or more days common in some countries. The gap between the U.S. and the rest of the world is even larger when holidays are included.
*The U.S. does not guarantee any paid holidays, but most rich countries provide between 5 and 13 per year, in addition to paid vacation days.
This is especially true in low wage, and part-time jobs. Among those in the lowest-earning quartile of workers, a little over half do not get any paid holidays. By contrast, more than 9 out of 10 workers in the highest-earning quartile do get paid holidays.
In other words, the less you’re paid to begin with, the less likely you are to spend Labor Day with your family without sacrificing a day’s pay. Just as you would be vastly less likely to be able to stay home from work while sick.
*Only 39 percent of workers in the bottom quartile get paid sick days, compared to 84 percent of workers in the highest.
Why is this? Why is the United States behind virtually every other first world nation when it comes to vacation time? . . .
MORE, https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/12/23/1819894/-American-workers-lose-when-compared-to-the-rest-of-the-world
Source, https://www.statista.com/chart/15005/statutory-minimum-paid-leave-and-public-holidays/
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