May 21, 2009
May 21, 2009
First Paid Vacation Bill in U.S. History to be Introduced in Congress
CEPR Senior Economist John Schmitt participated in a news conference held by Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL) to introduce the Paid Vacation Act of 2009 at the Cannon House Office Building Terrace in Washington DC at 11 a.m..
What the bill would do:
- Require one week of paid vacation for employees of companies with at least 100 employees.
- Three years after passage, the bill would extend this requirement to companies with at least 50 employees, and require two weeks for companies with 100 employees
- Cover workers after one year on the job. Part-timers must work 25 or more hours a week and 1250 hours per year to be covered.
Along with Schmitt, Time Back Your Time Executive Director John de Graaf and other speakers joined Congressman Grayson at the news conference.
Research by Rebecca Ray (also of CEPR) and Schmitt found that the United States is alone among industrial countries in not mandating paid vacation time. More than 147 countries now have paid vacation laws. All European nations require at least four weeks of paid vacation. Health studies have shown that regular vacations can reduce the rates of heart disease and depression by nearly half.
Congressman Grayson said, “Why are paid vacations good enough for the Chinese, French, Japanese, and German employees, but not good enough for us? In other countries, it’s a matter of right. Everyone is entitled to it. In our country, it is a matter of class. Over time we are coming to realize that whatever your background, wherever you grew up, wherever you live, there are certain basic elements that people need to have enjoyable lives. They need health care. They need a decent paying job. And for a good life, they need time off.”
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(Left to right in the first image: Rep. Alan Grayson [D-FL], Wanda Urbanska [host of Simple Living on PBS], John De Graaf [Exec. Dir. of Take Back Your Time], Bill Doherty [Board Member, TBYT], Dr. Arnold Pallay, Joe Robinson [Board Member, TBYT], and John Schmitt [CEPR].)
