The United States is the only advanced economy that does not guarantee its workers any paid vacation time, according to a new review of international labor laws by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). As a result, almost 1-in-4 Americans do not receive any paid vacation or paid holidays, trailing far behind most of the rest of the world’s rich nations.
The report, No-Vacation Nation Revisited, is a comprehensive review of the latest available data on international standards for paid vacation and paid holidays.
Workers in the European Union are legally guaranteed at least 20 paid vacation days per year, with 25 and even 30 or more days in some countries. Canada and Japan guarantee at least 10 days of paid vacation per year. U.S. workers have no statutory right to paid vacations.
“The United States is the only advanced economy in the world that does not guarantee its workers paid vacation days and paid holidays,” said John Schmitt, senior economist and co-author of the report. “Relying on businesses to voluntarily provide paid leave just hasn’t worked.”
The gap between paid time off in the United States and the rest of the world is even larger when legal holidays are included. U.S. law does not guarantee any paid holidays, but most rich countries provide between 5 and 13 per year, in addition to paid vacation days.
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via United States Still a No-Vacation Nation | Press Releases.
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