Need more vacation? Lawmakers push guaranteed PTO for all full-time workers

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — There’s a new push in Congress to guarantee at least 10 vacation days for all full-time workers.

A lot of people say they have to fight for PTO or paid time off.

But critics of the bill say it would be too costly for small businesses.

The workdays are busy at Strunk Insurance Group, but for the business’ 14 employees, there’s also plenty of time off, with an unlimited PTO policy.

“People have things that pop up all the time,” said Casey Strunk. “Whether it’s families, pets, children, all those small moments, we wanted to give [employees] the opportunity to take care of those things during the workday and not count against the time that they should really be taking off for vacations.”

Strunk Insurance Group is an employee benefits agency. The company shifted to its own unlimited PTO policy last year.

“It was a mindset shift for everybody, me included,” Strunk said. “I think at first folks were a little bit apprehensive to use it, and then we’ve seen an uptick in time off over the last six to twelve months, but we haven’t seen that the quality of work has gone down.”

On the other hand, an estimated 27 million full-time workers in the U.S. don’t get any paid time off. “That’s almost one in five workers,” said Rep. Seth Magaziner, a Democrat from Rhode Island. “We are the only advanced country in the world that does not guarantee people paid time off.”

Magaziner recently introduced the Protected Time Off Act, which guarantees all full-time workers a minimum of 10 days of PTO.

“American workers are the hardest working, most productive in the world, and they deserve to take a break every once in a while,” Magaziner said.

Among the 27 million full-time workers who don’t receive PTO, Magaziner says many work in the service, hospitality, and food and beverage industries but cited examples in other sectors, including higher education.

“This is much more common than I think a lot of people realize and it’s wrong,” he added.

Steve Chucri, president of the Arizona Restaurant Association, says the bill would be challenging for restaurant owners who already offer scheduling flexibility to their workforce.

“We are where you celebrate your birthdays, your anniversaries, your graduations and sometimes the passing in life, and we want to continue to be that for our community at the most reasonable cost,” Chucri told On Your Side. “But when you start to see these mandates come on, especially from Washington, buyer beware because you’re only going to escalate costs and, at the same time, do the antithesis of what this is hoping to do. You’re going to see more layoffs.”

Under the PTO Act, workers would accrue one hour of PTO for every 25 hours worked. That is in addition to any paid sick leave or family and medical leave that is already guaranteed by law.

Strunk says that whether or not it’s mandated by law, employers must consider a variety of benefits to maintain a strong workforce.

“I think it’s a conversation that’s going to continue to happen. Whether it’s unlimited PTO or work-from-home, whatever it is, employers are going to have to continue to find ways to attract and keep great talent, and this is one of those ways,” Strunk said. “We’re setting the standard. Somebody has to go first, right?”

Arizona has a paid sick leave law, which allows workers to accrue one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked.

Minimum guaranteed accruals depend on the business size: up to 40 hours for businesses with 15 or more employees and up to 24 hours for companies with fewer than 15 employees.

Employers are allowed to offer more paid sick time.

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