WASHINGTON – Planning a summer vacation? Congratulations.
A study from the Center for Economic and Policy Research says that the United States is the only advanced economy in the world that doesn’t guarantee workers paid vacation time.
According to the study, entitled “No Vacation Nation Revisited”, only 49 percent of full-time, low-wage workers in the country get any vacation time at all, while 90 percent of high-wage workers do.
That means, according to the study, that 23 percent of American workers get no paid vacation time.
It’s different in other countries. European Union workers are legally entitled to 20 paid vacation days per year, according to the study. Australia and New Zealand require employers to grant at least 20 vacation days — and that’s not including holidays.
The average American worker gets about 10 paid vacation days and about six paid holidays, the study says, citing government survey data.
That’s “less than the minimum legal standard set in the rest of world’s rich economies excluding Japan (which guarantees only 10 paid vacation days and requires no paid holidays),” according to the study.
And in five countries, the study says, workers not only get time off with pay — they get a little extra cash to help with expenses.
WTOP’s Alan Etter contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter.
