Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has introduced a new bill that would require employers with 15 or more workers to provide two weeks of paid vacation to employees who have worked there for at least a year.
Under the Guaranteed Paid Vacation Act, even part-time workers who work an average of 24 hours per week would be eligible for paid vacation, according to CNN.
"When you look at what other wealthy countries are doing, what you find is that the United States of America is the only advanced economy that does not guarantee its workers some form of paid family leave, paid sick time or paid vacation time," Sanders said in a press release. "In other words, when it comes to basic workplace protections and family benefits, workers in every other major industrialized country in the world get a better deal than workers in the United States. That is wrong."
According to Labor Department statistics, 87 percent of full-time employees receive paid vacation, while only 34 percent of part-timers get paid time off. For those workers making less than $9 an hour, only 39 percent get paid vacations, regardless of the number of hours worked, CNN reported.
Sanders pointed to a recent study by Oxford Economics, which found that employees given paid time off are more productive, focused and dedicated, and experience significant health benefits, such as reduced stress.
As part of the senator's "family values agenda," he also co-sponsored the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, which would provide 12 weeks of paid leave if an employee has a child or is diagnosed with a serious medical condition, such as cancer. Another bill sponsored by Sanders would give workers up to seven paid sick days.
Aside from the issue of fairness, Sanders said its a matter of public health.
"I do not know about you, but I am not crazy about the idea of somebody who is sick coming to work and preparing the food that I eat in a restaurant," he said, The Hill reported.
