Federal Law on Vacation for an Employee
Most businesses recognize that vacation time is important for their employees, because it is a way for them to recharge and avoid burnout. However, in the United States, a company can choose not to give its employees any vacation time, paid or otherwise--and still be following the letter of the law.
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Federal Law
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There is no federal law stating that companies have to give their employees time for vacations. The United States is one of the few developed countries in the world that has no federal law mandating employee vacation time.
Role of the Marketplace
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The United States does not have a federal vacation law because businesses have successfully argued that the marketplace solves the problem itself, without need for legislation. This is true, in the sense that workers can usually negotiate vacation time with their employers, and a company that does not offer vacation time will likely lose its best workers to rivals with more-generous time-off packages.
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Standard Vacation
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The average full-time worker in the United States gets two weeks off each year, in addition to a couple of personal days. This is much less time than in countries that do have federal vacation laws. For instance, many European countries require companies to give their employees four or more weeks of vacation time each year.
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References
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