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American exceptionalism: No leave for workers

(April 14, 2014) — The notion of “American exceptionalism,” that our nation is qualitatively different from others because of our independence and emergence from a revolution, is often used by conservatives to suggest superiority to other countries. But there are plenty of examples of America being exceptional — in a bad way — from the perspective of working families and their quality of life.

As a series of graphics by Mother Jones makes clear, our exceptionalism has been exacerbated in recent years as Americans have been expected to work harder and harder, while not sharing in the prosperity we have created. The chart below shows what an outlier the United States is in terms of requiring employers to grant minimum levels of time off work — family leave or simply vacation — with pay:

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Check out all of the Mother Jones graphics here.

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