Hi. Can any American who sees this confirm if it's true that there is no right to paid annual leave? I heard someone say this and think it's astonishing
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“The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations, sick leave or federal or other holidays. These benefits are matters of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employee's representative).” www.dol.gov/general/topi...
jul 1, 2025, 2:25 pm • 2 0 • view
That is correct. We aren’t entitled by law to *any* paid time off for any reason. That’s why so many American workers keep going to work while sick or injured: we can’t afford not to. When I was young and working as a waitress I was in a car accident. I suffered injuries to my back and neck and
jul 1, 2025, 2:24 pm • 1 0 • view
needed stitches for a scalp wound. I went back to work almost immediately because I couldn’t afford not to, even though I was in great pain and experience short bouts of dizziness and loss of vision. The manager put me on counter so I wouldn’t have to carry much or as far, and permitted me to lean
jul 1, 2025, 2:24 pm • 0 0 • view
against the counter when I has a dizzy spell. I’m 58 and started working when I graduated from high school shortly before my 18th birthday. I didn’t get paid vacation or sick time until I moved from blue collar work to white collar, and even then I was hesitant to use sick time because I didn’t want
jul 1, 2025, 2:24 pm • 0 0 • view
to risk termination and most of my vacation time over the years was used for taking care of my mom.
jul 1, 2025, 2:24 pm • 0 0 • view
The last “real” vacation I had was when I got married & took a week off for honeymoon. That was in July 2002. I have also spent as much of my life without health coverage as I have spent with. Pro tip: scalp wounds that look like they need stitches can probably be successfully closed with superglue.
jul 1, 2025, 2:35 pm • 0 0 • view
I am sorry to hear about your experience Marli. Just for comparison, here in England I get 32 days paid leave per year from my employer (27 basic + 5 length of service, plus the option to buy 5 extra days). I really hope that Americans can get better workers rights one day
jul 1, 2025, 8:45 pm • 2 0 • view
Honestly the idea that we have to work ourselves to death to earn the right to survive, & that only people at a certain income level “deserve”vacation, healthcare, higher education, etc. is so normalized here that I didn’t know how different it is in other countries until social media took off.
jul 1, 2025, 10:48 pm • 0 0 • view
Americans are horribly indoctrinated to believe that it really isn’t possible for things to be better, and that it’s unpatriotic to suggest that they should be. I think we are watching the fall of the empire in real time. We have been “on top” too long and now it’s our turn to fall.
jul 1, 2025, 10:48 pm • 0 0 • view
Hopefully what rises from the ashes of the fall of the American empire will be better, but right now things are just getting worse every day.
jul 1, 2025, 10:48 pm • 0 0 • view
Yep. That's correct. It's a privilege not a right.
jul 1, 2025, 2:32 pm • 1 0 • view