Of the countries with advanced economies, the United States is the only one that does not guarantee workers paid vacation time, according to a review of international labor laws by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

Because of this, nearly 25 percent of Americans lack any paid vacation or paid holidays, the review finds. European Union workers receive at least 20 paid vacation days per year by law. Some countries even mandate that workers receive 25, 30 or more days. In Canada and Japan, workers are guaranteed at least 10 days of paid vacation annually.

“The United States is the only advanced economy in the world that does not guarantee its workers paid vacation days and paid holidays,” said John Schmitt, senior economist and co-author of the report. “Relying on businesses to voluntarily provide paid leave just hasn’t worked.”

After including legal holidays, the difference in paid time off in the United States and the rest of the world grows larger, the review found. While the United States does not require paid legal holidays, most countries also provide between five and 13 paid legal holidays each year. On average, private-sector U.S. workers receive 16 paid vacation days, which would fail to meet the legal requirements in 19 countries.

Low-wage workers are especially susceptible to a lack of paid vacation and paid holidays in the United States, the review found. In fact, 49 percent of low-wage workers have paid vacation as opposed to 90 percent of high-wage workers.

Among part-time workers, 35 percent have paid vacations in comparison to 91 percent of full-time workers. Another 69 percent of small-business employees in the United States have any paid vacation while 86 percent of workers for medium and large organizations have paid vacation.

“It is striking that six years after we first looked at this topic absolutely nothing has changed,” Schmitt said. “U.S. law and U.S. employer behavior still lags far behind the rest of the rich countries in the world.”

Alan Grayson, D-Fla., has proposed legislation that would require employers to provide workers with at least one week of paid leave vacation each year. Part-time workers who have been employed for at least a year and work 25 hours a week or more are also included in the bill.

Instant Insights /

U.S. (still) lacks in paid time off, research says

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