Congress talks mandating paid leave
Proposals are floating around Congress to grant paid leave time for the estimated 30 million U.S. workers not given any. But some critics worry this would burden employers further in an already stressful time. John Dimsdale reports.
Working on vacation (iStockPhoto)
TEXT OF STORY
Steve Chiotakis: Here we are at vacation time -- the first day of summer is Sunday. And yet by some estimates, 30 million American workers aren't given any paid vacation leave by their employer. Congress is looking at legislation that would change that. From Washington, here's Marketplace's John Dimsdale.
John Dimsdale: In the House of Representatives, Democrat Alan Grayson represents Orlando, Fla, home to theme parks and other holiday destinations.
Alan Grayson: Listen, anybody who lives in Orlando understands that vacationing people are happy people. They're all around us.
Grayson is the sponsor of the Paid Vacation Act. Under his proposal, companies with more than a hundred workers would have to give everyone they've employed for more than a year a week's paid vacation. Grayson says time off is good for business.
Grayson: Study after study has shown people who go on vacations end up being more productive when they get back from vacation. And we need a workforce that is paying attention, motivated. And part of that is to have a workforce that doesn't always feel tired.
Companies aren't convinced. Keith Smith with the National Association of Manufacturers says his members support and provide paid leave. But he says this is the wrong economy for another government mandate.
Keith Smith: Additional burdensome costs, especially at a time like we're currently undergoing where manufacturers are struggling to retain and create jobs, that is not the best time to burden manufacturers with yet another cost of government compliance.
Employers may be feeling a little overwhelmed by a flurry of bills in Congress mandating paid leave for workers -- not just for vacations, but also for family emergencies and illness.
At a hearing last week on the various proposals, Deborah Ness of the National Partnership for Women and Families, said nearly half of all private-sector workers don't get any paid sick days.
Deborah Ness: The Healthy Families Act would help us significantly reduce the spread of pandemic or seasonal flu by enabling workers to comply with public health advice if they or their family members show sign of illness.
But Georgia Republican Tom Price worries that the cost of providing government-mandated benefits will be passed on to workers through reduced wages and fewer jobs.
Tom Price: At the very moment when Americans are worried about losing their job, this proposal undercuts job creation through higher employer costs.
So far, none of the bills have moved beyond the talking stage.
In Washington, I'm John Dimsdale for Marketplace.
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From HI, 10/03/2009
Since when did an employer, someone who puts their assets on the line to own a business, since when did they become the caretaker of society? No one holds a gun to the heads of employees to stay in a job that does not meet all of their needs.
Employers are not stupid, if they don't offer the benefits, the employee can move on to an employer who does. That is what inspires all employers to provide better benefits. But a business owner is not running a charity and is not the parent or caretaker of another human being and should not be legally required to PAY SOMEONE FOR NOT WORKING!! What is wrong with people that think they are entitled to be paid by the employer for not giving a service to that very employer. Blows my mind!
From Sydney, Australia, 06/21/2009
I moved to the states in 1996, and at my first job in the US, my predecessor told me that I would probably need a Xanax prescription to deal with the stress of the job, and I would probably be putting in 50 hour weeks to get everything done. I walked into an office with paper piled high on the desk, put my head down, got the job done by midday, cleared the desk and wondered if I was missing something. I wasn't.
Now I’m back in my home country (Australia), I generally work a 38 hour week, enjoy 4 weeks annual leave, can expect my retirement to be paid for out of my employer’s compulsory contribution of 9% of the value of my salary, and have basic healthcare provided by a 1.5% tax on my income. And guess what – we’ve actually weathered the global financial crisis reasonably well (touch wood).
Americans deserve and will benefit from decent employment conditions, which will increase productivity. There's no virtue and no benefit in poor time-management on the part of employer or employee. Overworked and unhealthy employees are unproductive employees.
From Buffalo, NY, 06/18/2009
The rapid decline in US business excellence comes from the end employer/employee pact that existed for the post WWII era worker. Ending the pact ended the loyalty and dedicated servitude the American worker provided in exchange for good wages, pensions, and good vacation benefits. With that gone, workers no longer care about quality, pride and workmanship in a company's products because the employer does not value them. We're only the labor number in their equation. Therefore, honor and integrity are gone from both sides now. No big surprise.
In addition, to Tom Price, hey knucklehead, were you active listening or planning your ideological response? Productivity increasing at companies with good vacation benefits, which means the employer makes up his investment in time-off with higher productivity. Again, a nonsensical answer from a Republican!! Yawn!
From Rochester, NY, 06/18/2009
Grayson is promoting the belief that the American workforce is handicapped and unable to make good employer choices.
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