Full title: BREAKING: Bernie Sanders just introduced the Guaranteed Paid Vacation Act — a bill to guarantee at least two weeks of paid vacation to every full-time worker in America. Over 90 other members of Congress have already signed on to the legislation.
I can recall a time when I told off for NOT taking holidays and that the company had introduced a policy to ideally take some time off before April, before August and before December.
Most people banked them for Christmastime, but then there was too many people off during the holidays (It was a service provider so it was open 362 days (25/12, 26/12, 1/1 were the only days the business shut except for on-call))
And of course, the longer your tenure, the more days off that you had. Anything that we didn’t use in the year would need to be taken within January of the next or you simply lose them.
We have more than 20 in Poland. 26 at least. I think You can use up to 28. Plus , obviously sick days, which don’t have a limit and more than 10 holidays every year. And You can score an additional 2 every 2 months if You’re a blood donor. I’ve had a week of every 2 months this year and I’m not even through a third of my paid leave.
20 days + 4 weekends =28! This is the European average.
I think you get 20 days until you’re 30 (have 10 years of experience total, university counts)?
Two weeks off that’s nothing. Why make a big deal for two stinking weeks.
This is how America works.
Capitalists grind workers beneath their boots.
Workers finally have enough and push back.
Capitalists offer workers meager concessions that they will try to take away again later.
And it’s not just a capitalist/worker dynamic, it plays out elsewhere too, like DNC/progressives or cops/black communities. The Battle of Los Angeles is a great example of this - a black-lead uprising was burning the city down and repatriating goods from capitalists, and it was defused by offering to form a commission which ultimately did nothing. (Not to frame the ‘riots’ as purely a good thing though, they were disorganized and understandably enraged so some small businesses and innocent bystanders were harmed too. But it’s an inevitable result of how the US Empire exploits those who live on the land it stole.)
Part time and contractors should be included, not just FTE.
And it should be 4 weeks. To make up for all that “productivity” we already put in without time off.
…and to bring you in line with the rest of the world.
Start with something.
Contractors are difficult because they tend to be hourly, and hourly employees lose out when there is time off. My first studio would do typical 2 week shutdownns around Christmas time, but they stopped doing it because workers complained about lost pay.
They should definitely be added. But I think getting a foot in the door is more important while we still have this current administration.
How should this go about if I may ask? Genuinely curious to learn the terminologies behind this.
Is it a bonus? Paid leave?
A bit hard to say. Since there’s two major types of contractors
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the “basically employees” contractors are ones who do everything expected of an employee but aren’t granted the status of an employee. This is a “simple” matter in enforcing that they be actual employees under the law, either through courts or with a definition of duties that keep them from skirting that line (though employers will always try). Basically make the definition relatively lax so they can’t do stuff like “work 38 hours a week” to avoid it.
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The “truly contractors” who essentially set their own hours and get paid for work provided. Basically stuff in the gig economy . These are pay as you go so I’m not sure you can enforce vacation time into this model.
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I think this is stupid. We need the bill to be way more aggressive, ambitious, and inclusive.
Here’s what needs to be happen for this bill to bring meaningful change:
- Increase the guaranteed paid leave time to at least 20 workdays. Having just 10 workdays off is a joke, we need to raise our standards to match the rest of the developed world.
- Expand the coverage to include part time workers and contractors. I think it’s fine if part employees get slightly less guaranteed time (like 2/3 of what full timers get) and contractors get more nuanced rules, but they need to be included. If they’re not then that just opens a loophole for corporations to continue not giving people the vacation time they deserve
- Include paid sick time in the bill, and explicitly separate it from vacation time. These are not the same thing and should draw from the same pool. Guarantee all employees get a least 5 workdays of sick leave that can be expanded up to 10 workdays if the employee provides a doctor’s note.
- Add paid sick leave that is NOT paid sick time. The Federal government needs to follow the Massachusetts model where workers are eligible to take up to 20 weeks of paid medical leave for their own serious health condition, up to 12 weeks of paid family leave to care for a relative, or a combined maximum of 26 weeks per benefit year.
- Just like MA, this money doesn’t come from the employers but from the government. That means the federal government needs to create a department in every state that processes these claims and pays people properly when they need to take time off to ensure that the benefits are guaranteed.
- Require companies to give at least 10 workdays of paid bereavement leave. Employees should be eligible to get this benefit any time a spouse or close relative passes away (parents, children, and siblings).
- Make all 11 federal holidays (technically 12 with Inauguration Day, but that happens once every 4 years) paid by default, and add election day as the 12th annual paid federal holiday.
- Include a stipulation that mandates companies to provide a paid day off for any holiday that falls on a weekend either the Friday before or Monday after. Employers also need to provide essential workers that need to work on holidays, their paid day off within one week before or after the holiday.
- Provide guaranteed paid maternity leave for up to 24 weeks all mothers for every child, where they are eligible to start their leave at 4 weeks prenatal. Just like with the sick leave, the federal government will guarantee 100% of their pay for all 24 weeks.
- Provide guaranteed paid paternity leave for up to 16 weeks. Fathers also need to bond and take care of their newborns as well as the mother of their children. The federal government will guarantee the first 12 weeks with 100% pay, and the last 4 with 67% pay.
- Have the federal government guarantee paid time at full rates for any mandatory time off taken for civic duties like jury duty.
- Mandate employers provide employees with at least 5 paid workdays that count as personal days that can be taken for any personal reason such emergencies, ceremonies, errands, or extra sick time or vacation time.
- The federal government needs to explicitly ban employers from firing or retaliating against employees for taking any of the time off provided and guaranteed by the bill, maintain their health insurance while they’re gone, and be legally required to give employees their jobs back or provide them with an equivalent position that has the pay and benefits once they’re back.
Now THIS is a serious bill. It guarantees a generous 42 workdays (20 vacation + 5 sick time + 5 personal days + 12 holidays) worth of paid time off annually which finally puts this country not just on on par with the rest of the developed world, but ahead. If the US is to serve as the leader of the free world, this is how it has to be done. This on top of the mandatory employment protections and extra paid time off for specific scenarios, makes this a truly worker friendly country. This kind of bill would increase happiness, improve health, and reduce stress for hundreds of millions of people.
Now, I’m not naive, I know Republicans and corporate Democrats will try to water this down. However, even if we only end up getting 2/3 or even 1/2 of the benefits and guarantees on this bill then that’s still a huge win. You have to start negotiations from a high a place so you’ll end up with something that’s at least acceptable. What Bernie proposed is starting from a low place to appease people who are genuinely greedy and apathetic to the point of being evil. You can’t do that. You have to hit them hard and rally the people on your side. People will whine about me letting perfect be the enemy of good, but I’m not. I’m against letting mediocrity stop us from achieving anything meaningful. If the Democrats did less performative shit and focus on real change like my hypothetical expanded bill, they would sweep the GOP into oblivion.
Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.
What Bernie proposed is starting from a low place to appease people who are genuinely greedy and apathetic to the point of being evil. You can’t do that.
Without leverage, we have to do it this way. They just shut it down if it’s the slightest bit “radical”. Make it in a way that even the most rabid MAGA diehard can’t disagree with the idea.
And this radical plan would just bring the USA to the established standards of the developed world.
Actually, if the US offered 42 paid days off a year as in my hypothetical bill, it would rank first in the developed world alongside Monaco who also offers 42 paid days off. Also most countries in the developed world don’t mandate things like personal days, bereavement, or paid time off for mandatory civic duties. For the few countries that do, it’s very limited.
For example, a couple of countries in the Balkans offer 7 days of paid bereavement time per year, and that’s the highest in the world. Most countries offer only a couple of days or nothing at all. So offering 10 days for every loved that passes away in a single year would make this the most the most generous paid bereavement leave in the world.
Still though, we currently have nothing so anything would be nice at this point.
You’re COUNTING sick days. Sick days are generally not counted elsewhere. There are limitations on the number of consecutive days you can take without getting signed off by a doctor, but that’s it. Had one team member that got frequent migraines, and averaged about 1 sick day every two weeks. Good employee, just took a lot of sick leave. Questions were asked but because it was a valid reason nothing was done.
What you’re describing is 25 days off plus public holidays. Very normal.
I like your plan. We should create a website that lists those things we want instead of letting politicians make shit up for us.
We really should. It’s up to us organize and push change. Our complacency is what brought us to this point. We have to be active and demand our rights.
It’s again and again baffling how backwards the US are. We’ve had four weeks minimum since before I was born, and I’m an ageing millennial
Crazy that we’re fighting to achieve some of the lowest time-off standards in the developed world.
And we will fight tooth and nail and still lose
Tbf, it’s a minimum value. Then the average will be forced to be higher, because employers still need to compete to have some postions filled.
My issue is the question on the definition of “full time position”. I’m assuming 30hr/week lime health insurance. We already have a problem of employers refusing to let employees work more than 25hr/week to avoid the additional costs associated.
I think the bill needs a provision that part-time has equivalent requirements based on yearly hours to close that loophole
So is the value for other countries. I get 25 when legal minimum is 20. You are fighting for the lowest standards.
That’s what they said about minimum wage. It’ll go up but the shit is still $7 or $2 if you’re unlucky.
The US maternity leave is the shortest in the world and medically dangerous.
There is no maternity leave???
Right before their FIVE-week recess, super.
Australia has 20 but…
Also 10 national paid public holidays, 10 sick/carers leave, 10 domestic violence leave, 12 weeks parental leave + a government paid 6 months parental leave and lastly long service leave of 3 months after 10 years service + a bonus 10 days per year long service leave per year after that.
Not to mention the taxadvantaged employer paid 12% retirement investment account accessible at 60.
Y’all need to join unions.
Yeah the chart is bad, 8 of those days in the UK are national holidays and therefore decided for you.
Plus we’re behind on the rest, it’s like the chart was sponsored by our government…
Could be worse those, could be American…
…domestic violence leave?
You think you shoukd be forced to beat your wife on a vacation day?
They let you take time off to beat your spouse lol
Basically, if you are the victim of domestic violence - you’re provided with 2 weeks of paid leave through your workplace, regardless of full-time, part-time, or casual.
This allows them to find emergency accommodation, attend medical/legal appointments, counselling etc.
Workplaces may request some form of documentation, which usually takes the form of a Domestic Violence Order (specific type of temporary restraining order), which can be issued pretty quickly - e.g. within 24hrs, if deemed to have an immediate risk.
In general, workplaces aren’t too demanding on this matter - due in part to the sensitivity of the offence, and also due to the potential of Ombudsman involvement if they make things too difficult.
Yep, time off to leave an abusive partner etc. Part of the government’s response to our epidemic of family violence.
:(
Yeah, that one might be a tad embarrassing to call in.
Be embarrassed, or die at the hands of your partner, you choose!
Not sure taking the day off work factors into that. But I meant more using all your other days off and having to call in abused.
If you need to leave an abusive partner, you can’t wait until you have accrued the necessary leave to find alternate accommodation, make all the arrangements, and move out. You need to do it NOW.
Work/leave was highlighted by numerous studies and reviews as a hurdle to people leaving abusive relationships. Having access to it is actually kind of a no brainer.
Australia has a limit on sick days?
10 paid a year. Some works accrue them continually, some reset it each year, some accrue them but max at 10.
I get 15 paid sick days, after that it’s unpaid.
10 days a year is ridiculously few
We just need the law passed so we can work on raising it every year. It’s 10 more than we have now
It is, however, more than none. Which is what some people are getting at the moment.
Wait - so currently it is legal for employers in the US to give ZERO vacation days to employees? Jeez, what kinda shithole country is the US?
Oh honey…
They elected a ‘thing’ that’s obviously been a con man for decades.
A blatant racist, casino bankrupting corrupt piece of disgusting scum. Who has had nearly 30 court cases for sexual assault.
A so called human that has numerous websites tracking their obvious lies, thousands and thousands of confirmable and easily debunked lies.
Then there’s the 30 plus felonies. The numerous court cases and fines etc, some of which involve being fined for stealing from children’s charity’s.
The list goes on and on…But, then, get this, then they fucking elected it again. And this was after the Covid debacle, an attempted insurrection, stealing of top secret documents to sell or use in nefarious manner, AND the Epstein-tRUMP files being in everyone’s faces.
That is what the us is to me now. And for the rest of my life.
A country so complacent/evil/stupid that they can elect one of the very worst ‘humans’ in living history… TWICE!They elected a ‘thing’ that’s obviously been a con man for decades.
its unrelated to current president. this been a problem for decades. clinton, bush, obama, biden, trump etc
Decades?
He says with the entirety of the country being 250 years and this being a problem for the entirety of it.
So how many vacation days did the law mandate before 2016?
I think they’re saying that an electorate that stupid wouldn’t have been voting for reasonable policy even before that.
So was there a vote on vacation days at some point? And if not, how does one vote for these sensible policies?
So was there a vote on vacation days at some point?
I mean kind of… It was the Democratic primary and Bernie unfortunately lost it
How did all these other countries do that, and not the US? I think it starts with “America doesn’t have poor people, they have temporarily embarrassed millionaires”. So everyone is voting in the interest of the capitalist class, because they want to believe they are part of it. Where that comes from is a matter of historical processes.
Well said.
It’s a place where you’re expected to work until you die, mostly.
“Rise in the number of part time employees surges as employers exploit this one loophole.”
The jobs that are easy to part time to avoid benefits are already doing so. This doesn’t really move the needle on that.
Though, it would be a good thing to address that at some point.
What should happen is part-time employees should receive the same leave, proportional to the actual amount of time/days worked.
Didn’t this already happen under Obamacare?
A bunch of service sector employers tried to schedule their staff at under 32 hours while still squeezing them for 40+ hours of work. Everyone hated the system, because it continued to leave the onus of health care on individual employers, while private premiums climbed. And then the courts + Trump Admin defanged any effective enforcement.
What a great system. So glad we weren’t simply covering everyone with Medicaid by default.
Yep! So instead of one full time job you had to juggle multiple part time jobs because a lot of business watch your hours like a hawk.
Two weeks or 10 days isn’t enough. Push for at least 20 days like most of the world has. Also force companies to provide sick days instead of using a shared pool. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice a vacation because you got sick of had to go to the doctor.
(Im not American) While I agree 2 weeks is not nearly enough, isn’t this also a bit “perfect is the enemy of good”? Anything is better than nothing, and 2 weeks is at least a start. Pushing to 4 weeks can be done after the 2 weeks has been achieved.
Agree. In this political climate, getting any positive change is tough. This is a good first step that would have affected me at the first two of three FT positions I’ve worked. It’s not good enough long term imo, but it’s positive and I’ll celebrate the hell out of that.
10 is better than what we have, but don’t start with what you are willing to negotiate down to. Start strong and be willing to compromise if that is what is needed. I don’t think mandatory minimum days off is a controversial issue except for the ruling class.
Who are you giving advice to? I don’t think Bernie can hear you, and even if he could, I’m 99% sure he would passionately explain precisely why you’re wrong and the methodology behind his decision.
I’m stating my opinion. I would love to hear why he chose the days that he did. I’m not saying he is an idiot or wrong, I’m sure he knows what he can get as he has been in the Senate long enough to know these things.
Fair enough, no further comments.
I’d argue we should start taking pages out of the right’s playbook. Start with hilariously unachievable numbers to drag the Overton window towards the left, so that your actual desired number seems more reasonable in comparison.
Basically, if you only want 14 days, start by listing 28. Then when the final bill that congress is voting on only has 14 days, you’re able to say you reached across the aisle and compromised.
Conservatives do it all the time. They’ll use conservative talking heads and influencers to float extreme ideas, and begin normalizing them. So that the conservative lawmakers can then start introducing more tame versions of the now-normalized insane ideas. Basically, drag the Overton window towards the right, and now your extreme policies don’t appear as extreme.
That’s exactly it. Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection
But but America number 1, no? So the new law should push them to the first place. They could call it the America Number One act.
No, this is conceding ground that could be used for negotiation before they even start. He’s asking for 2 weeks, negotiations happen -> maybe 1 week is achieved.
Ok, but… That is still more than the US has now. You need to start somewhere.
Yes, so you ask for 4 weeks to actually get 2. Starting a negociation with a concession is simply poor strategy
If I get sick on vacation I get to recover my vacation days. Of course I need to prove it, so it’s not always worth it or practical, but it should definitely not be the same pool.
Yeah, my employer requires FMLA paperwork for any medical absences longer than 2 days.
Anyone who has ever had to do FLMA paperwork knows exactly how obscene that is. My doctor’s office charges for FMLA paperwork specifically because it’s such a chore. Which means that if I need to be out sick for longer than a few days, I have to pay my doctor’s office to fill the paperwork out.
TBH this doesn’t seem like a bill that was drafted with the intent of passing. More likely this is to give Democratic challengers of Republican incumbents something easy to confront them about when they inevitably vote against this. The bill reads as reasonable to the average worker, who may be less likely to support a candidate that voted against giving them a measly 10 days off.
It should be the other way around: if you are really sick multiple days during your vacation, you should get more vacation days because you didn’t have your vacation while sick. Since becoming sick right when your vacation starts is a strong indication of being seriously overworked for a long time.
That’s how it works here, in EU
What about not having ‘sick days’ but unconditional paid medical leave if deemed necessary by your MD?
That’s what we have, and although it can be abused (as everything) it seems the most humane and natural thing to have. You cannot know how many days you will be sick. Generally people doesn’t get sick at all!
I’m not opposed to that. Would need to have a limited number of unverified sick days as Americans would abuse it, at least for a time. If you go to a doctor and they say it is necessary for you to be off work for 3 months, then an employer would have to respect that. There would also need to be punishment for retaliating against employees that have long sick periods.
One compromise is businesses could be compensated by the government for sick time employees use beyond what is given by company policy. If someone has to take two weeks and they were only slotted one, the government will give a fixed amount per day that does not exceed that employee’s daily wages.
Or simply consider the fact people gets sick part of the cost of doing business, and plan accordingly.
The way it works in Denmark is your boss can demand a doctor’s note from your doctor. They can do this no matter the circumstances, but they’re required to pay for it. I’ve never been asked to get a doctor’s note, but I have also never been untrustworthy enough for a boss to not believe when I say I’m sick.
In Spain there is an established procedure. The doctor signing you for sick leave must work for the public healthcare system, and the cost of the procedure is zero. The communication to the employer is via electronic means, and the information provided to the company DOES NOT contain the diagnose nor the treatment, just the estimated recovery time.
My job has separate PTO and sick hours. Only downside is the sick hours cap at 80, with 40 given each year. So I basically just take random “sick” days.
Ah, the “I feel too good to work today” sickness
Mental health days are valid uses of sick time!
Agreed, that’s insane. I get like 3 weeks just around the holidays alone. Thanksgiving week, and about two weeks from Christmas eve through new years days.
Then unlimited vacation on top of that, from which I’ve already taken 4 weeks this year.
Great, now maybe also do something about companies shitting on part timers as well.
Seeings how pretty much all major companies use hours worked to accrue PTO there is no reason for part timers to not get any.
Good Ol’ Bernie, still trying to do nice things for everybody… The world would have been different if he would have been elected.
The man would have needed a new Popemobile.
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