Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) plans to introduce the Paid Vacation Act of 2009 on May 21. The measure is described as the first national paid-vacation bill in U.S. history.
The law would require companies with at least 100 employees to provide one week of paid vacation. Three years after passage, the requirement would be expanded to companies with at least 50 employees.
Three years after passage, the requirement would increase to two weeks of paid vacation per year for companies with at least 100 employees.
The law would cover workers after one year on the job, and it would cover part-timers who work at least 25 hours a week and 1,250 hours a year.
More details will be given at a May 21 press conference, where Grayson will be joined by John de Graaf, executive director of a grassroots group called Take Back Your Time.
"This is a very modest bill, but we support it wholeheartedly and congratulate Congressman Grayson for introducing it and helping open a dialogue about why vacations matter, how deprived Americans are when it comes to paid time off and why we must act now to improve the situation," de Graaf said.
