Paid Vacation Could Be Guaranteed For NYC Workers

NEW YORK — A new proposal from Mayor Bill de Blasio would make New York City the first in the nation to guarantee paid vacation time for private employees. The mayor on Wednesday said he will push for a new city law requiring most companies to give their workers at least 10 days of paid time off each year for vacation, time with family, religious observances or any other purpose.

Some 500,000 full- and part-time workers in the city who have no paid personal time would benefit from the law, which would apply to all firms with at least five employees, the mayor's office said.

"If you work hard and you don’t get a break, that’s not fair," de Blasio, a Democrat, said at a City Hall news conference. "That’s not fair for the people who do the work, that’s not fair for their families who never get to see them."

The proposal, first reported by The Washington Post, must be approved by the City Council. It comes ahead of de Blasio's annual State of the City address on Thursday.

The legislation would benefit New Yorkers lacking paid personal time in a range of jobs, including 200,000 in the hotel and food service sectors, 180,000 in professional services and 90,000 in retail, the mayor's office said.

The city currently gives government workers more than two weeks of paid personal leave a year, according to City Hall. The new proposal would bring the city in line with other industrialized nations that have similar guarantees in place, such as Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, France and Spain, de Blasio said.

"We’re the exception, and it’s a bad exception," he said. "It’s time for us to change, and that change begins here in New York City."

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said he supports de Blasios proposal in principle and looks forward to reviewing it through the legislative process. Councilman Jumaane Williams (D-Brooklyn) will be the lead sponsor on the bill. He first introduced a similar measure in 2014.

The mayor said the plan should be "voted on quickly but phased in smartly" so businesses, especially small ones, have time to adjust.

"We have a culture that makes it seem like you should feel a way for wanting to have time off, and that culture makes people feel bad for taking time off even when they have it," said Williams, who is also a candidate for public advocate.

De Blasio unveiled the plan a day after announcing an effort to expand health care services for the city's 600,000 uninsured people, which received national media attention.

Some conservatives criticized the proposal to The Washington Post as a mandate that would hurt businesses and workers alike. But de Blasio argued the city's economy has remained strong even as it has implemented other worker protections, such as a 2014 expansion of paid sick leave.

(Lead image: Mayor Bill de Blasio is seen on Dec. 21, 2018. Photo by Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)