This post has been updated in 2021 to include the new US holiday commonly known as Juneteenth. See below.
I work with many Europeans who are going for a long-term assignment of two to four years to America. People from other countries are always curious how the work day looks in the US. Let’s talk today about working hours, compensation methods, holidays and vacations in the US.
First, let me say that American companies usually have personnel handbooks that outline the policies of that company. These handbooks should be considered the authoritative guide for employees of that company. But here are some generally accepted and commonly applied practices.
EXEMPT AND NON-EXEMPT
Employees are often either exempt or non-exempt. Exempt employees are executive, administrative or professional employees earning a certain minimum wage (a gross annual salary of $23,000 is sometimes used as a guideline). They are called exempt because they are paid a fixed salary and the employer is exempt from paying them for overtime worked.
Non-exempt employees, sometimes referred to as hourly wage earners, must be compensated for the actual number of hours worked. Depending on their contract, they may be paid more for working at times other than normal business hours, on weekends, or whenever they exceed 40 hours per week.
HOLIDAYS
The US government has 10 federal holidays. Many businesses also grant their employees holidays on these days or they compensate those who must work on those days because of the demands of business. In some cases when a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, companies will make the adjacent workday a holiday.
Let’s review those dates chronologically:
New Year’s Day – January 1 is the first holiday. Most of the US does not greet the New Year with fireworks. We save our fireworks for later in the year. But we hoist a glass of champagne and say “Out with the old, in with the new. Happy New Year”.
People may ask if you have made any New Year’s Resolutions. These are lists of things you decide to change about your life in the New Year, like exercising more or eating less for example. If only these were as easy to keep as they are to put on the list!
The 3rd Monday of January remembers the birthday of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This is the most recently added holiday and one that highlights the struggle to eliminate racism in the country and provide equal opportunity to people of all colors.
Dr. King’s most famous speech is known as his “I Have a Dream” speech
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
You can hear a longer excerpt from the speech at this link. (A delay of about 15 seconds will occur before the audio begins playing.)
The 3rd Monday of February is Presidents Day. The US recalls two of its great presidents, both of whom were born in February. The 1st president, George Washington who fought for Americans freedom in the Revolutionary War, and the 16th Abraham Lincoln, who guided the nation through the Civil war to free the slaves and whose life was taken by an assassin’s bullet.
Next it is interesting to note that Easter is NOT a US holiday since it falls on Sunday. Good Friday and Easter Monday are “business as usual” in the US. And while many people celebrate Easter Sunday as a religious event, it is not a holiday since schools, businesses and government offices are closed anyway.
The next holiday comes on the last Monday of May and is our Memorial Day, a day to remember all those who gave their lives in public service, including members of the military, police and fire fighters for example. There are patriotic parades and many Americans take the opportunity for barbecues and other outdoor celebrations heralding the start of the summer season.
This paragraph added in 2021:
Juneteenth (officially Juneteenth National Independence Day and historically known as Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, and Black Independence Day) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of African-American slaves. It is also often observed for celebrating African-American culture. The day was recognized as a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. Juneteenth's commemoration is on the anniversary date of the June 19, 1865, announcement of General Order No. 3 by Union Army General Gordon Granger, proclaiming freedom for slaves in Texas, which was the last state of the Confederacy with institutional slavery.
Independence Day is July 4th. The nation celebrates its birthday on the same day when in 1776 the declaration of independence was signed. This is the time for fireworks in the US.
The end of summer is marked by our Labor Day on the first Monday of September. This day roughly corresponds to the holiday celebrated by much of the rest of the world on May 1st.
The 2nd Monday in October is Columbus Day, a chance to remember the explorer who proved that the world isn’t flat and called Europe’s attention to the New World.
There is some controversy surrounding this holiday because Native Americans have protested the honoring of Columbus’ achievement, which set into motion the events that destroyed the great Native American civilizations. Some have asked for the day to be renamed Indigenous Peoples’ Day in memory of the many Indian tribes and Eskimos who once were the only civilizations from Atlantic to Pacific Ocean and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Circle.
The second Friday of November is Veterans’ Day to honor the veterans of Americans wars, living and dead. Banks, post offices, government offices, and schools may be closed, but most businesses remain open.
In contrast we come to a very important holiday on the 4th Thursday of November – Thanksgiving Day. It commemorates the celebration of the Pilgrims’ first harvest in 1621 when they invited their Native American neighbors to a feast.
If you are in the US in Thanksgiving Day, you might have the special privilege of being invited to a Thanksgiving dinner where you will eat turkey with breaded stuffing and gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberries and pumpkin pie. You’ll be expected to eat second and third helpings. No discussion of diets or weight on that day.
Since the holiday is always on a Thursday, schools and many businesses close the next day and so it becomes a four-day weekend. This allows families to assemble and for this reason Thanksgiving is a very heavy travel period.
It also kicks off the final month before Christmas (the Advent period) during which time shopping becomes a battle for survival. The day after Thanksgiving is the busiest shopping day of the year.
And that brings us to the final holiday of the year – Christmas. For Americans the holiday is officially only December 25th. But the excitement becomes almost uncontrollable on Christmas Eve beautifully expressed in this nearly 200 year old poem by Clement Clarke Moore:
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
Most businesses close early on the 24th, but it is not an official holiday. And the 26th is business as usual. In fact, it is the second busiest shopping day of the year as people rush to the stores to exchange ugly ties and ill-fitting clothing as well as take advantage of the discounts offered by stores wishing to clear their inventories before the end of the year.
Those are the ten federal holidays. But many companies have awarded their employees an additional two holidays known as floating days. They function much like vacation days in that each employee decides when to take his floating holidays. The origin of these days is an attempt to insure that nobody should feel discriminated against for religious reasons. Christians (and everyone else) gets a day off for Christmas. What about Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, etc.? Each person has two holidays whose dates are of their own choosing. Some people who have no need for additional days for religious purposes take these days as two additional days of vacation.
There are several other important days – not because people get off work but because they have important traditions associated with them.
Once again going chronologically, I would first like to mention Valentine’s Day. February 14th is the day when many people express their love for those closest to them with flowers, candy, champagne, candlelight dinners and other gifts.
March 17th is a very important day if you happen to live in one of the cities with a large Irish population. These would include Chicago, Boston and New York. Don’t be surprised if everything is colored green in honor of St. Patrick’s day – even the Chicago River! Wearing a green tie might get you a free drink.
The second Sunday of May is Mother’s Day in the US, just as it is in Germany and some other parts of Europe. But Father’s Day does not synchronize. The Americans celebrate it on the second Sunday of June.
I’ll mention one more event – October 31st is Halloween, a time when children dress in costumes and go to the neighbors asking for candy with the demand:
Traditional symbols include witches, ghosts and hollowed-out pumpkins which have a scary face carved into them. It is also a time many adults attend costume parties as well.
VACATION
Now that we know the special days, let’s talk about vacation. Note: The British speak about “going on holiday” but Americans use the word “holiday” to refer to fixed dates like Labor Day.
Each company sets its own policies, but a typical policy in America is that employees must work for a company one full year before becoming eligible for any vacation. From the end of the first year to the end of the 5th year of employment with a company, 10 working days of vacation are permitted per year. Starting with the 6th year it might increase to 15 days and after 10 years to 20 days.
This is quite modest compared to German vacation policies, but Americans who are worried about maintaining their position in the company often find it difficult to take more than a week off at a time. One American saying goes: “If you can be gone from your desk for more than a week, they probably don’t need you!”
So, when we look carefully at it, Americans and Germans have about the same number of days off for holidays. But Germans typically have from two to four times as many days of vacation each year.
I hope that helps those of you who might be spending time working in America.
- Herb