Furthermore, apart from a few small outlying countries, American workers are the most productive in the world. Since that’s the case, we must be doing something right. Many economists believe our relative productivity is a product of having fewer restrictions on businesses, like requiring paid time off.
The debate over paid time off is actually quite similar to that over the minimum wage. After all, vacation time is just another form of compensation. Logically, requiring employers to give vacation time is going to decrease pay, and increase unemployment on the margin.
But the real economy is a much more complicated place than theoretical models suggest, and there are most likely cases where labor markets just aren’t that competitive, allowing employers to pay workers less than they’re worth. In those situations, mandated paid time off would have little economic downside — and let more of us celebrate Labor Day together.
Read more: http://business.time.com/2013/08/30/this-labor-day-much-of-america-will-be-laboring/#ixzz2dfNOlD7A