5 ms·
Many facets of US employment law are different on a state-by-state basis, so "The US sets no minimum/maximum for ..." can frequently be true but vacuous. Broad
by patio11 14y ago
Many facets of US employment law are different on a state-by-state basis, so "The US sets no minimum/maximum for ..." can frequently be true but vacuous.
Broadly speaking, salaried employees in the US can expect a statutory minimum of 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave. Fairly few states mandate paid maternity/paternity leave. They're available at many companies as a perk.
Broadly speaking, Americans enjoy broad discretion in negotiating the amount and format of paid leave. By law and custom, the practical minimum is ~2 weeks plus holidays for most white collar workers. We historically do not have European-style vacations as an expected feature of the social contract.
- fuzzix 14y agoFair point. I wonder if the increasing number of us tech firms setting up in .ie (for whatever reason, being an Irish graduate I know it's not for the skills pool) find the adjustment difficult - 20 days minimum, 25 not uncommon, with the ability to carry some leave across years generally accepted. edit Anecdotally, even companies based in the UK have had trouble with the difference in employment law when setting up (or wrapping up) here, though I would put that down to lack of diligence rather than any cultural thing.
- ido 14y agoIreland has (or at least had as of a couple years ago) some sort of tax loophole that allows international companies to dodge paying some taxes both in their home country and in Ireland.
- gfritzsche 14y agoSee e.g. the Double Irish Arrangement: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Irish_arrangement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Irish_arrangement
- easytiger 14y agoits not a loophole, they have very low corporation tax compared with anywhere else
- hect0r 14y agoIt's not a loophole. It's a competitive differentiator for Ireland in attracting MNCs to invest and hire there.
- rmc 14y agothe increasing number of us tech firms setting up in .ie (for whatever reason, being an Irish graduate I know it's not for the skills pool) 12½% corporate tax rate. EU base. Less strict attitude towards EU data protection et al. find the adjustment difficult - 20 days minimum Heh, reminds me of someone I know working for an Irish tech company that was bought by a US company. They had to sit the new owners down and say "Yes, we are actually entitled to paid holidays. No, that's the law here."
- sliverstorm 14y agoWe are also workaholics. Or, at least I am.
- fuzzix 14y agoAs am I. I just spend a lot of time working on my own projects. I value a regular (i.e. not too long) working day for being able to actually do this.
- tedmiston 14y agoOut of curiosity, what is your work day like? Are you putting in something like a 9-6 as is common in the U.S.?
- fuzzix 14y agoAye, pretty much (9-5:30 with flexible start time). Thing is, I would probably work longer hours voluntarily if I could telework - give over half my usual commute time to a little extra. But that's a different story... http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5092589 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5092589
- drKarl 14y agoI work in Ireland too (I moved to Ireland 3 months ago) and I work 8:30-5 with flexible start time, 8:30-4 on fridays, and I can work from home some days as well.
- eli_gottlieb 14y agoBy custom only. There is literally no law.