This week’s blog in the US Employment Law series focuses on vacation time.
One of the key differences between United States employees and employees in most of Europe is the amount of vacation time employees have come to expect. American employees think that four weeks vacation is extremely generous. Most entry-level jobs provide at most two weeks vacation. Six or more weeks of vacation time is generally reserved for the most senior executives – those who have worked hard, proven their loyalty, and are being rewarded towards the end of their career. Europeans, on the other hand, commonly enjoy four or more weeks of vacation even at entry-level jobs and, in fact, many European countries mandate a minimum amount of vacation time.
In the US, there are no federal laws mandating how much paid time off an employee must receive. In fact, absent a collective bargaining agreement or other employment contract, an employer does not have to provide any paid time off to its employees. However, although there are no federal laws, some paid time off has come to be expected. So although it is not governed by law, one might say that that vacation time in the US is governed by custom. Most employees expect to receive at least two weeks of paid time off per year. This paid time off may be in the form of some combination of vacation time, sick days, and personal days. As employees advance in their careers, they expect to receive more vacation time. In general, it is customary for employees to receive between two and four weeks of vacation time per year, depending on their level of experience and years of service, with more senior executives enjoying more generous paid time off packages.
A common problem multi-national companies face is when they bring an employee from Europe over to work in the US office. The European employee expects to continue to receive her four weeks of vacation. This, however, may not go over too well with her US colleagues working in the same office at the same level, but who are only getting two weeks of vacation. Employers need to be sensitive to this potential land mine.
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Thanks for posting this Basics of US Employment Law and for comparing the differences between United States employees and employees in most of Europe.
LLC