Since that time, Americans have made some progress. Several states now have paid family leave laws; Washington State’s is the most generous. Paid sick leave legislation started in cities, with San Francisco leading the way and many others following it. Vacation time, though, seems almost forgotten, a luxury those who have take for granted. Meanwhile at least a quarter of American workers receive no paid vacation leave at all, especially our poorest workers. In fact, Americans today get—or take—less vacation time than a generation ago.
Expedia has regularly polled workers regarding how many vacation days they give back each year—the average is about four. But a poll that Take Back Your Time conducted in 2007 was even more telling—the median paid vacation time for Americans was barely more than a week. Half received or took even less. Even the notoriously hardworking Japanese got more.
VACATION MATTERS
Vacation matters, for both happiness and health. A nine year study of men found that those who didn’t take vacations were far more likely to suffer heart attacks; a study by Cathy McCarty of Wisconsin’s Marshfield Clinic found that women who didn’t take vacations were far more likely to suffer from depression. Seattle physician Sarah Speck told me that much of the illness her patients suffered was from the stress of overwork. “Take two weeks off and call me in the morning,” she advised them.
In 2008, I watched C-Span with excitement as Florida representative Alan Grayson mentioned Take Back Your Time in Congress and advocated a paid vacation law. I worked with Grayson to develop his bill, a modest proposal offering one to two weeks off depending on the size of the firm people worked for. I joined Grayson and several members of the Take Back Your Time team for a press conference to launch the bill. It went nowhere. FOX News interviewed me about it and accused me of “trying to turn America into a 21st Century France.” Oh, the horror! As if I were demanding that all Americans appreciate good food and wine.
Undaunted, I tried again a few years later at the state level. Gael Tarleton, my state representative, offered a paid vacation bill to the Washington State legislature in 2014 and 2015, just after my film THE GREAT VACATION SQUEEZE aired on many PBS stations.
Again, the bill was modest, offering an hour of paid vacation time for every 20 hours worked, up to 12 days in a year. Calculating time using hours worked would prevent employers from cutting hours to avoid providing any paid vacation time at all. Physician Sarah Speck and other advocates testified for the measure in the legislature. The business lobby stood in fierce opposition, suggesting that it would bankrupt small business, even though we provided evidence that such a bill would be a boost to the state’s economy and increase productivity. We lost both times—while the bill had 4-3 support in the Labor and Industries Committee, it was not sent to the floor of the state House.
NEW HOPE IN NEW YORK
“Workers across the nation have been working too hard without enough time to rest and recharge or enough time for family and important life events. Every other major nation recognizes the necessity of Paid Personal Time. We as a country must get there, and New York City will lead the way."
– Mayor Bill de Blasio
But hope springs eternal. Recently, I was contacted by members of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s staff in New York City. In May, 2019, they introduced legislation providing two weeks of paid vacation to all city residents. They have strong support from the city’s unions, something that wasn’t true in our Washington State efforts, and expect the bill to pass early next year. As we spoke, I was very impressed by their well-thought-out plan and their strategy for passage. When the bill does pass, New York City will be the first jurisdiction in the US (outside Puerto Rico, which provides three weeks by law) to require paid vacation time.
I am hopeful that Seattle will be number two. I currently have commitments from three of our nine city council members to support paid vacation legislation, which they will introduce early in 2021. I believe that at least three other council members will support them, providing a clear majority for passage.