- The US federal government has fewer legal work protections compared to other industrialized nations.
- The US is the only country without guaranteed paid family leave or vacation leave. It also does not require that companies give breaks for lunch or coffee. Italy and China, meanwhile, offer two hours of lunch break.
- Here are seven ways the US lags behind the rest of the developed world in providing worker protections.
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The US federal government offers surprisingly few worker protections - especially when compared to other developed nations.
Not only is the US the only industrialized country without paid parental leave, it also does not require companies give paid vacation.
Read more: Women now outnumber men in the college-educated workforce. They still get paid less.
Individual states have their own protections, including higher minimum wages and paid leave, but on a federal level, the US lags behind the rest of the developed world.
As a result, Americans work longer hours than people in Europe and Japan, and suffer from high rates of burnout. Minimum-wage workers cannot afford rent for a two-bedroom apartment in much of the US, and the increasing number of gig-economy workers like Uber and Lyft drivers have even fewer protections than their full-time counterparts.
Here are seven mind-blowing facts that depict how few worker protections the US provides.