Thursday, August 21, 2008

Without a Break

The August slowdown has descended over workplaces throughout Washington, but some workers never get a break.

A quarter of U.S. workers have no paid vacation time, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Three-quarters of those who work for elementary and secondary schools receive no paid vacation time. (Part of that is because many of them work on nine-month contracts.)

More than a third of service workers have no paid vacation.

Three in 10 workers at small companies -- those with less than 100 workers -- also toil without paid breaks, although some may take unpaid time off. By contrast, only one in 10 workers at companies with 500 or more on the payroll have no paid vacation.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics considers paid holidays and paid personal leave as separate categories of time off. About one-third of workers get paid personal days and three-quarters get paid holidays.

Union workers start out with a little less vacation time than non-union types, but after 10 years, they have a day more off and after 20 years, four days more.

-- Vickie Elmer