New Yorkers need a vacation

Nancy RankinIrene Lew

We all need an occasional break from work.  Time to spend with our families, attend to other demands, and to relax, refuel, and replenish our souls.

But low-income workers in New York City are much less likely to have paid time off than higher earners. And with little control over their workhours or savings to fall back on, these workers are hard-pressed to take unpaid time away from the job, even if it is allowed.

Our most recent Unheard Third survey[1] of New Yorkers found that only 31 percent of the working poor and just 43 percent of the near-poor (with incomes below twice the federal poverty level[2]) had even a single day of paid vacation.  That compares to two-thirds of moderate and higher-income workers who are able to take time off with pay.

 

Which workers in New York City lack paid vacation now?

Full-time workers are more than twice as likely to have access to paid vacation than part-time workers, regardless of income. Though part-time workers, who are often juggling work, school, and family obligations or multiple jobs, still need and deserve at least some time off. But even when low-income workers are employed full time, roughly half get zero paid vacation.  

Small employers are the least likely to offer any paid vacation time.  Only 16 percent of low-income workers and 32 percent of moderate and higher-income workers in firms with fewer than five workers have paid vacation. In businesses that are a little larger, with five to 10 workers, 24 percent of low-income and 43 percent of moderate and higher-income workers receive vacation pay. In contrast, the majority of workers in firms of 50 or more receive paid vacation, including 54 percent of low-income workers and 80 percent of those with higher incomes. If we are considering how to make paid vacation available to more workers, we should keep in mind that it’s low-income employees, part-time workers and those in smaller businesses who are most likely to lack it now.

These patterns are similar to what we see nationally. According to BLS data[3], 53 percent of U.S. workers in the bottom 25 percent of wages had access to paid vacation compared to 80 percent of those in the top wage quartile. Eighty-seven percent of full-time workers had paid vacation time, in contrast to just 38 percent of part-time workers.  And, as in New York City, small employers are less likely to offer vacation pay.

This reality is in sharp contrast to the rest of the industrialized world. Among 21 OECD nations, all but the United States require a minimum amount of vacation, with most mandating at least 20 days a year.[4]  Even workaholic Japan requires 10 days of paid vacation plus 15 paid holidays annually. The U.K. requires 28 vacation days and France mandates 30. You may have heard about chassé-croisé, the massive traffic jam that occurs each summer in France when all the workers who have vacationed for the month of July are returning while those headed out for August are leaving. That’s the kind of congestion that weary commuters sweating summer midtown traffic dream about.

 

Eighty percent “for” vs. 8 percent “against”

New York City’s Mayor, Bill de Blasio, thinks all workers should have the right to paid personal time. It’s an idea he’s been talking about a lot as he pursues his longshot bid for president.  Here in New York City, he recently proposed requiring private sector employers of five or more to provide their workers with at least 10 days of paid personal time annually. Employees would accrue a given amount of vacation leave for every 30 hours worked, much like paid sick time is now earned under the city’s paid sick leave law. Part-time workers would earn paid vacation at the same rate, so it would take them longer to accrue it. City Hall estimates that 900,000 New Yorkers now without any paid vacation would benefit. A bill, introduced by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, is now making its way through the City Council.

Opponents argue that requiring paid vacation will hurt local businesses already stretching to absorb New York’s $15 minimum wage and other recent labor protections.  But a new report[5] from researchers at The New School and NELP counters that contention with evidence that New York City’s restaurant and fast food industries are thriving.  In the five years since the minimum wage rose from $7.25 an hour in 2013 to $15 for employers of 11 or more at the end of 2018[6], restaurant jobs, wages and numbers have all gone up.  While providing paid vacation will add to labor costs, making it a legal requirement will level the playing field, enabling employers to provide paid leave without fears they will be undercut by others who fail to provide basic benefits.  Moreover, it’s in the self-interest of Manhattan businesses—from restaurants to retail shops—that make money from tourist dollars, to get behind measures that expand access to vacation for American workers.  The rest of the world recognizes that a break from work leads to a happier, more productive workforce, and we should, too.

Our polling found widespread and intense support for paid vacation as the next step in ensuring basic workers’ rights. Eighty percent of New Yorkers surveyed favored requiring New York City employers to give their workers at least 10 days a year of paid vacation or personal time—including 70 percent who strongly favored the idea.  Support is high across income groups. And the idea draws broad bipartisan support. Eighty-five percent of Democrats and 72 percent of Independents favor a law requiring paid vacation, but so do two-thirds of Republicans, including 53 percent who strongly favor it. Twelve percent of New Yorkers were not sure about the idea, while only eight percent opposed it. Summer may be over, but this Labor Day, New Yorkers say they need a vacation.


 
[1] The Unheard Third is a scientific telephone survey of 1,829 New York City residents reached by cell phones and landlines from June 18 to July 20, 2019.  It was designed by Community Service Society in collaboration with Lake Research Partners, who administered it using Random Digit Dialing and professional interviewers.  Interviews were conducted in English, Spanish and Chinese. The margin of error for the entire survey is +/- 2.29 percentage points and +/- 2.97 percentage points for the low-income component.
[2] The federal poverty threshold for 2018 was $25,465 for a family of four with two children; 200% of the FPL is $50,930.
[3] Source:  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, Table 32. Leave Benefits:  Access, civilian workers, March 2018.
[4] Adewale Maye, No-Vacation Nation, Revised, CEPR, May 2019.
[5] Lina Moe, James Parrott, and Yannet Lathrop, New York City’s $15 Minimum Wage and Restaurant Employment and Earnings, Center for New York City Affairs at The New School and the National Employment Law Project, August 2019. The authors note a 3.2 percent dip in Manhattan full-service restaurant employment in 2018 and a slight decline in the number of full- and limited-service restaurants in New York City in 2018, but point out that it came after a sharp 15.7 percent increase in 2017, and emphasize the net growth in employment and establishments over the entire period.
[6] Under current law, restaurants are permitted to pay tipped workers a lower cash wage than the general state minimum wage, provided that tips bring them up to the applicable full minimum wage. The lower so-called “tipped minimum wage” has also been gradually increased from $5.00 an hour at the end of 2013 to $9 an hour for small employers and $10 an hour for employers of 11 or more at the end of 2018. Workers in fast food chain restaurants are covered by a separate minimum wage that rose from $8.75 an hour at the end of 2014 to $15 at the end of 2018.

Issues Covered

Economic Mobility & Security, The Unheard Third