United States and Canada trail world in number of statutory holidays

In North, Central, and South America the United States of America and Canada are among the least generous countries when it comes to statutory holidays.

Part of the reason is the free market structure of the US business world and laws surrounding it. Although these laws and policies have contributed to America being home to the world’s most successful non-government funded businesses, it does cut down on the amount of paid time off employees enjoy.

The main reason is that federal law does not mandate employees be paid for any time not-worked. Laws only govern rates of pay, requirements for overtime, and some mandatory unpaid periods.

Therefore there are no holidays in the United States where the law mandates payment, making the US the country with the minimum number of required holidays,

However employees do enjoy paid holidays as virtually all companies provide this benefit or face not being able to recruit employees.

Unlike the United States, Canada does have mandatory vacation entitlements. These entitlements are unpaid and vary between provinces. Like US companies, many Canadian companies supplement the required holidays with additional holidays in order to recruit better talent.

Learn more about cultures at Cultural Bridges, a website loaded with free information about world cultures. The site is maintained by getmaximpact.com, based in Rochester Hills, Michigan.

With the importance of the automotive industry Michigan has long had an above average number of companies with international locations. This list has grown with the addition of the security, technology, and life science sectors added through the state’s 21st Century Growth initiative.

More information can be found in the Worldwide Benefit and Employment Guidelines. It is published by global human resources consultant Mercer, a  wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies as a resource for international companies.

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