Mayor de Blasio announced a proposal to require businesses with five or more employees to provide two weeks of paid vacation. Sherry Leiwant, co-founder and co-president of A Better Balance, and Felix Salmon, chief financial correspondent for Axios and host of the Slate Money podcast, discuss the policy and how the U.S. compares to the rest of the world in this area.
"You can do one day a month, some do an accrual, some do a straight amount of weeks per year. Many of these countries also require that workers get holidays off," says Sherry Leiwant of @ABetterBalance, on paid vacation policies around the world (and how to do it in NYC).
— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) January 14, 2019
It is very common in Germany to go to a small business and see it closed for the month of August or a few weeks over the holidays. Those corporate behaviors are unthinkable in the United States, says @felixsalmon on paid vacation policies.
— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) January 14, 2019
@BrianLehrer even the US military members receive 30 days paid vacation per year. It’s called “Leave”
— Barbara Cho (@BarbaraCho1) January 14, 2019
@BrianLehrer I remember when De Blasio @NYCMayor went on vaca for 2 wks in Italy, Italian newspapers mentioned 2 weeks is considered long vacay in the USA as NYC papers complained 2 weeks was 2long. In Italy officials go 3 / 4 weeks.
— stefano giovannini (@stefpix) January 14, 2019
I was “permalance” for a decade at a tv station in NYC, no sick time or paid time off. There was a pay differential (higher day rate, union negotiated) but they just weren’t hiring fulltime with benefits.
— Lisa Guido (@lisaguido) January 14, 2019