So how does it work in America?

[billyskank]

Here in Britain, New Year's Day is a public holiday. Because New Year's Day was a Saturday this year, they gave us a public holiday today instead. Does it work the same way for you lot in the USA? Because I have heard that you guys are pretty holiday-starved: they didn't fucking make you go to work today did they??

[kick-ass-bob]

1. We got Friday off...

[smbolisnch]

2. Hahahaha.........

Everything is open today! :)

[billyskank]

4. Oh, most things were open today here too

Public holidays are anything but for those poor saps in the service sector..... :evilgrin:

[Left Is Write]

3. My husband's company gave Friday as a holiday.

If the actual holiday had fallen on Sunday, the company holiday would have been today.

Many employers have similar policies.

[chicagojoe]

5. Most of us were off on Friday.

If Sunday were New Years Day, today may have been the holiday.
I guess we'll see next year.
Happy New Year, billyskank! (cool name!)

[billyskank]

6. Cheers! May 2005 not completely suck!

:toast:

[mongo]

7. What is this holiday thing you speak of?

Actually, our store was closed on New Year's Day, but Daisy and I came in for 6 hours to inventory the store.

We close for Thanksgiving, Xmas, and New Year's, but I may close on July 4th this year. We had a real slow day last year, and it would be nice to get an extra day off.

[baldguy]

8. Americans don't get vacations or holidays.

There are really only three holidays that businesses are required to observe: Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. All the other "official" holiday observances are optional. And companies aren't required to offer vacation at all. Hell, we don't even get an eight hour work day anymore. Its usually nine or ten hours.

Americans are over-worked and under paid compared to the rest of the industrialized world.

[SoCalDem]

9. and if a company can limit workers to a few less than full time hours

they can sometimes evade the "benefits" altogether.

It used to be 40 hours was a standard work week for full time 8x5
Anymore, lots of companies pay benefits based on less than 40,because they offer few "fulltime" jobs, but still must attract good people, so they SAY they pay benefits to "some part-timers", and base it on say 35 hours. The rub is this... For instance, where I worked once, if an employee worker 35 hr+ for 4 consecutive weeks, they were automatically pushed into the "fulltime" rolls of the company, and were then eligible for all kinds of "goodies" that part-timers were given.

so.. they would watch the schedules like a hawk, and schedules would look something like this:

wk 1....38 hrs (no overtime under 40 hrs)
wk 2....40 hrs (still no overtime)
wk 3....39 hrs
wk 4....30 hrs

On wk 4 all management were told that they were NOT to call this person in, no matter how badly they might be needed.

and the way the "pay" week was broken down, you could sometimes be worked up to 11 days straight without triggering any overtime.

[Xithras]

12. They aren't even "required" to observe those

The only reason most businesses close on Thanksgiving, July 4, and Xmas is that they've learned by experience that most employees will simply call in sick on those days anyway.

There is no law anywhere requiring any business to close to observe any holiday. Those that do, simply do so out of tradition.

[livinginphotographs]

14. I know in retail, all you really get is Xmas.

I've worked both Thanksgiving and July 4th. Some are nice to give you time-and-a-half Holiday pay, most are not.

But you're right about the vacation time; I'm happy to have two weeks at my current job, because my last one offered three-hours-per-paycheck in vacation time. That sure adds up fast. /sarcasm

[CanuckAmok]

10. First joo get dee money, den joo get dee power, den joo get dee weemen"

No, wait...was it the power first? I know the women come later... oh, forget it.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

11. Wish we could get some of those "bank holidays".......................

you folks get over there.

"Bank holiday comes six times a year
Days of enjoyment to which everyone cheers
Bank holiday comes with a six pack of beer
....then its back to work a--g--a-i-n."

-Blur

[billyskank]

13. Just don't try to drive anywhere on one:

Hey! It's a bank holiday! Let's get the fucking caravan out!!

[Patiod]

15. I always like having the day after New Year's off

In Philadelphia, there is often a lot of partying around the "Mummer's Day Parade" (that's what people call it).

There's the official parade up Broad Street (picture teamsters and pipefitters dressed in feather outfits and playing banjoes)



then there's the unofficial parade down 2nd Street, where all the clubhouses are. We had friends with a house on 2nd St, so it was an all-day party.

Nice to have a chance to recover.

[NewJeffCT]

16. We need to do it like the Chinese do their new year

They get a whole friggin' week (at least) for Chinese New Year...

[underpants]

17. I got Friday off my wife got today off

So it depends. If you work in any kind of service industry (retail, restaurants, etc.) you probably don't get any day off unless you take it (if you have vacation) or it is regularly scheduled and even then you might be "asked" to work.