WHAT ARE THE RIGHTS OF WORKERS?Everyone has the right to access to employment of one’s choice and decent working conditions once employed.11 Workers are entitled to a decent living, equal pay for equal work, safe and healthy working conditions, and the right to join trade unions in order to protect their interests.12

International treaties including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) all protect the rights of workers.

The International Labor Organization (ILO), the UN agency dedicated to labor issues, releases conventions every year that are widely recognized as the international standards for labor rights. The ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work identifies four core labor rights: freedom from forced labor, freedom from discrimination, the right to organize and bargain collectively, and the abolition of child labor.13

DOES U.S. LAW RECOGNIZE THE RIGHTS OF WORKERS?Federal and state laws in the U.S. guarantee a healthy and safe working environment,14 family and medical leave,15 freedom from discrimination,16 minimum wages,17 and the right to form unions.18 The U.S. has ratified the ICCPR and the ICERD, both of which protect the rights of workers. However, the U.S. has failed to ratify the ICESCR and six of the eight core ILO conventions. These include conventions addressing forced labor, freedom of association and collective bargaining, equal pay, and child labor.19

IS THE U.S. FULFILLING THE RIGHTS OF WORKERS? Legal exemptions and insufficient enforcement mean that some workers in the U.S. are denied the full protection of their rights. Employees of small businesses, agricultural laborers, and domestic workers are especially vulnerable to abuses.

Freedom of AssociationThe National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects the rights of workers to form and join trade unions and to bargain collectively with their employer.20 However, the law has many limitations which weakens freedom of association. A union is not allowed to campaign during working hours while employers may hold mandatory meetings during which they can discourage workers from organizing.21 Even after workers vote to form a union, employers can appeal the election results for years. If negotiations fail to produce a contract, the employer is allowed to impose its final offer unilaterally, which reduces the incentive to bargain in good faith.22

The right to strike is also protected by the NLRA, but is undermined by provisions that allow employers to permanently replace striking workers, deterring workers from exercising this right and encouraging employers to demand unreasonable concessions in contract negotiations.23

Poor enforcement and significant exclusions also weaken NLRA protections. Fines for violations of labor law, such as firing pro-union employees, are so small that employers view them as routine costs, not deterrents.24 Many workers, including low-wage workers most vulnerable to exploitation by employers, are excluded from even the small amount of protection provided by the NLRA.25 In 2006, the National Labor Relations Board increased the number of workers excluded from protection through worker reclassification.26

Freedom from Forced or Compulsory LaborThe 13th amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits “slavery or involuntary servitude.”27 However, forced labor persists because of high demand for cheap labor and lack of regulation in certain industries. It is estimated that, at any given time, between 10,000 and 50,000 workers in the U.S. are victims of forced labor.28 Forced labor is most common in the sex industry, domestic service, agriculture, and textile factories. Many people end up in forced labor situations as a result of human trafficking. While the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 was created to help reduce trafficking violations, enforcement continues to be an issue.29 Many victims are too afraid of their traffickers to report the crime and less than one percent of cases are solved annually.30

Immigrants, whether documented or undocumented, are especially vulnerable to forced labor. The H-2 guestworker program allows people to enter the U.S. legally for temporary seasonal employment. Once here, these workers are vulnerable to exploitation and enslavement, including stolen wages, seizure of identity documents, poor living conditions, and denial of medical care for workplace injuries.31

Prison labor, while potentially beneficial to prisoners, can lead to situations of forced labor. Prisoners cannot strike for better working conditions or find a better job, and if they complain or refuse to work, they risk solitary confinement, losing parole for good behavior, or losing access to libraries and recreational facilities.32

FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION: The right to form and join trade unions, to bargain collectively with employers, and to strike in defense of their interests.1

FREEDOM FROM FORCED OR COMPULSORY LABOR:The right to be free from slavery, servitude, and other forms of involuntary work.2

ABOLITION OF CHILD LABOR:No employment of children under 13 and no employment of children under 18 in occupations harmful to their health, safety, or morals.3

NON-DISCRIMINATION:Equality of treatment and opportunity in employment, without distinction on the basis of race, sex, religion, politics, nationality, or social origin.4

SAFE AND HEALTHY WORKING CONDITIONS:The right to just and favorable conditions of work, to protection against unemployment, and safe and healthy conditions in the workplace.5

A DECENT LIVING:The right to earn wages that ensure the worker and his or her family an existence worthy of human dignity.6 REST AND LEISURE:The right to reasonable limits of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.7

PROTECTION AGAINST UNEMPLOYMENT: The right not to be unfairly deprived of employment.8

All Workers Have a Right to:

Every Worker Has Internationally Recognized Rights…

“Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.” 9

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 1948

THE RIGHTS OF WORKERS in the United States

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To ensure the rights of workers, the U.S. has the following obligations:

RESPECT: Governments must not deprive any worker of his or her rights under domestic and international law and must refrain from taking retrogressive measures that are incompatible with the rights of workers.

PROTECT: Governments must take measures to prevent individuals or third parties, such as employers or civil society organizations, from interfering in any way with the realization of the rights of workers.

FULFILL: Governments must adopt necessary measures and create an enabling environment such that all workers can enjoy their full rights.

MEET MINIMUM STANDARDS: Governments must ensure the satisfaction of the minimal, but essential, standards laid out in the UDHR and immediately address extreme situations of abuse.

NON-DISCRIMINATION: Governments must work to prevent discriminatory outcomes due to class, race, gender, language, or other factors, in order to ensure equity in the fulfillment of the rights of workers.

PROTECT MOST VULNERABLE: Governments must actively reach out to the most frequently marginalized and excluded communities, who face the greatest barriers in realizing their rights as workers.

MONITOR AND REPORT: Governments must monitor and report on their fulfillment of the rights of workers and ensure accountability for their actions and inactions.

The Rights of Workers in the United States

U.S. Government Obligations58

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Last updated November 2011

Abolition of Child LaborMinors may obtain work in the U.S. and their conditions of employment are heavily regulated. However, lack of law enforcement or meaningful penalties leads many employers to repeatedly employ children in illegal hazardous jobs.33 For instance, children are prohibited from operating dangerous machinery, but many child laborers routinely use such machines in factories, meat-packing plants, and warehouses.34 The estimated 800,000 children working on farms face even worse conditions. Despite the fact that agricultural labor is the most dangerous and strenuous sector in which children work, the Fair Labor Standards Act allows them to be employed in farm work at a younger age, for longer hours, with no overtime pay, and in more dangerous conditions than in other professions.35

Non-discriminationThe U.S. Constitution does not specifically address discrimination within the workplace; however, numerous federal and state laws prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, age, and disability.36

Despite the existence of these laws, workplace discrimination continues to occur in the U.S.

A 2004 study found that “the chances of black men being promoted…were only half those of white men. For black women, their chances of promotion were less than a third of those for similar white men.”37 In 2010, there were 88,183 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission individual charge filings due to race, gender, and disability-related discrimination.38

One result of workplace discrimination is the persistent income gaps between men and women, and between white workers and minorities. For instance, full-time women workers earn 77.8 cents for every dollar earned by men, while African-American men earn only 67.4 cents for every dollar earned by white men.39

Discrimination based upon sexual orientation and gender identity is not prohibited by any federal law. Only 21 states and the District of Columbia grant legal protection from workplace discrimination due to sexual orientation, while only eight states and the District of Columbia prohibit gender identity-based discrimination.40 As a result, up to 43% of lesbian, gay, and bisexual workers encounter discrimination in the workplace in the form of denied promotions, negative evaluations, verbal and physical abuse, workplace vandalism, unequal pay and benefits, denied employment, and termination of employment.41

Safe and Healthy Working Conditions In the U.S., safe and healthy working conditions are protected by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.42 The act stipulates that employees have the right to work in conditions free from recognizable and preventable hazards, such as toxic chemicals, mechanical dangers, electrical hazards, unsanitary conditions, and other dangers. Despite these protections, health and safety violations routinely occur as a result of exemptions and minimal enforcement. For instance, historically dangerous workplaces such as meatpacking plants exacerbate the risk of injury by forcing employees to work too fast, with minimal training and, commonly, no protective gear.43 Employers then try to minimize their liability by firing workers who report injuries.44 The agricultural sector is another area where employers take advantage of a poor, often immigrant, workforce. The disability rate for U.S. farmworkers is three times higher than that for the general population.45 Once workers are injured, most states do not offer the same compensation benefits to farm workers as those in other areas.46 Undocumented workers are especially likely to face unsafe working conditions, a situation made worse by a Supreme Court ruling denying them any meaningful relief in the event of labor law violations.47

A Decent LivingThe U.S. addresses the right to a decent living through minimum wage and overtime laws, but as a result of weak standards and poor enforcement, these laws do not adequately guarantee a decent living. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, meaning that a person working 40 hours a week for a full year would earn only $15,080, a poverty-level wage for a family of three.48 Not only is the minimum wage too low, exemptions leave some workers without protection, including employees of small businesses and farms.49 Workers face further obstacles in the form of poor minimum wage enforcement. In a 2008 study conducted in U.S. cities across the nation, 68% of workers had experienced a wage violation within the previous work week.50 As a result of an inadequate minimum wage and poorly enforced laws, almost 3 million full-time, year-round workers live in poverty.51

Rest and LeisureThe U.S. is the only advanced economy in the world not to guarantee a single day of paid vacation or paid holidays.52 As a result, as many as one in four American workers do not receive any paid vacation or holidays.53 The U.S. is also alone among advanced economies in not guaranteeing paid sick leave to its workers. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) only grants up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for a serious health condition, birth or adoption. However, the Act applies only to certain workers and does not cover less serious illnesses, leaving many workers ineligible. Also, since the leave is unpaid, even covered workers may not be able to afford to take it.54

Protection Against UnemploymentThe U.S. is the only major industrial power that still adheres to “at will” employment, which gives employers the ability to fire workers at any time for almost any cause.55 Employees cannot be fired for refusing to commit a crime, reporting a crime or performing a public duty, but the burden of proof falls on the employee to demonstrate that the termination was illegal.56

While the U.S. has no official protection from unemployment, workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own are eligible for unemployment benefits. Unfortunately, these benefits are only available for a limited period of time, which hurts workers during a prolonged economic downturn.57

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EndnotesWORKERS

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International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 1. 22. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm (Accessed July 20, 2011); International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Article 8. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cescr.htm (Accessed July 20, 2011); Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Article 23(4). http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html (Accessed July 20, 2011); International Labor Organization (ILO). Conventions 87, 98. http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/convdisp1.htm (Accessed July 20, 2011).

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Article 4. http://2. www.un.org/Overview/rights.html (Accessed July 20, 2011); International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 8. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm (Accessed July 20, 2011); International Labour Organization (ILO). Conventions 29, 105. http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/convdisp1.htm (Accessed July 20, 2011).

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 3. (ICESCR). Article10. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cescr.htm (Accessed July 20, 2011); International Labour Organization (ILO). Conventions 138, 182. http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/convdisp1.htm (Accessed July 20, 2011).

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Article 2. http://4. www.un.org/Overview/rights.html (Accessed July 20, 2011); International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 2. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm (Accessed July 20, 2011); International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Article 2. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cescr.htm (Accessed July 20, 2011); International Labour Organization (ILO). Convention 111. http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/convdisp1.htm (Accessed July 20, 2011).

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 5. (ICESCR). Article 7 (b). Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cescr.htm (Accessed July 20, 2011); Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Article 23(1). http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html (Accessed July 20, 2011).

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Article 23(3). 6. http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html (Accessed July 20, 2011); International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Article 7(a)(ii). Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cescr.htm (Accessed July 20, 2011).

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 7. (ICESCR). Article 7(d). Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cescr.htm (Accessed July 20, 2011); Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Article 24. http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html (Accessed July 20, 2011).

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Article 23. http://8. www.un.org/Overview/rights.html (Accessed July 20, 2011); Human Rights Committee, General Comment 18, Non-discrimination (Thirty-seventh session, 1989), Compilation of General Comments and General Recommendations Adopted by Human Rights Treaty Bodies, U.N. Doc. HRI/GEN/1/Rev.1 at 26 (1994). http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/gencomm/hrcom18.htm (Accessed July 20, 2011).

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Article 23. http://9. www.un.org/Overview/rights.html (Accessed July 20, 2011).

United Nations. Economic and Social Council. Committee on 10. Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. The Right to Work. 24 Nov. 2005. http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/898586b1dc7b4043c1256a450044f331/493bee38093458c0c12571140029367c/$FILE/G0640313.pdf (Accessed July 20, 2011).

United Nations. General Assembly. Office of The High 11. Commissioner for Human Rights. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 16 Dec. 1966. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/pdf/cescr.pdf (Accessed July 20, 2011).

Ibid.12.

ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work 13. and its Follow-up. http://www.ilo.org/declaration/thedeclaration/textdeclaration/lang--en/index.htm (Accessed July 20, 2011).

Occupational Safety and Health Act. 29 USC § 651-678 (1970). 14. http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/29C15.txt (Accessed July 20, 2011).

Family and Medical Leave Act . 29 USC § 2601-2654 (1993), http://15. uscode.house.gov/download/pls/29C28.txt (Accessed July 20, 2011).

Civil Rights Act. 42 USC § 2000e (1964), http://uscode.house.gov/16. download/pls/42C21.txt (Accessed July 20, 2011).

Fair Labor Standards Act. 29 USC § 201-219 (1938). http://17. uscode.house.gov/download/pls/29C8.txt (Accessed July 20,2011); Revision: Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-28, Title VIII). http://uscode.house.gov/uscode-cgi/fastweb.exe?getdoc+uscview+t29t32+135+1++(29)%20%20AND%20((29)%20ADJ%20USC)%3ACITE%20AND%20(USC%20w%2F10%20(201))%3ACITE%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20 (Accessed July 20, 2011).

National Labor Relations Act. 29 USC § 151-169 (1935). http://nlrb.18. gov/national-labor-relations-act (Accessed July 20, 2011).

International Labour Organization. “Ratifications of the 19. Fundamental Human Rights Conventions by Country.” http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/docs/declworld.htm (Accessed July 20, 2011).

National Labor Relations Board. “Employee Rights.” http://www.20. nlrb.gov/rights-we-protect/employee-rights (Accessed July 20, 2011).

Human Rights Watch. Unfair Advantage: Workers’ Freedom of 21. Association in the United States under International Human Rights Standards. 2000. http://www.hrw.org/reports/pdfs/u/us/uslbr008.pdf (Accessed July 20, 2011).

Ibid.22.

Getman, Julius. Right to Organize, Right to Strike. American 23. Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations. http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/speakout/julius_getman.cfm (Accessed July 20, 2011).

Human Rights Watch. Deck is Stacked Against U.S. Workers. 30 24. Aug. 2000. http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2000/08/30/deck-stacked-against-us-workers (Accessed July 20, 2011).

Human Rights Watch. “Unfair Advantage.” 5 Oct. 2000. http://25. www.hrw.org/en/node/79051/section/1 (Accessed July 20, 2011).

Human Rights Watch. U.S.: Labor Board’s Supervisor Ruling 26. Violates Worker Rights. 22 Oct. 2006. http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2006/10/22/us-labor-board-s-supervisor-ruling-violates-worker-rights (Accessed July 20, 2011).

Cornell University Law School. “United States Constitution: 27. Amendment XIII.” http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.amendmentxiii.html (Accessed July 20, 2011).

Buckley, Chrissey. Forced Labor in the United States: A 28. Contemporary Problem in Need of a Contemporary Solution. Rep. http://www.du.edu/korbel/hrhw/researchdigest/slavery/us.pdf (Accessed July 20, 2011).

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the 29. Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. Human Trafficking into and within the United States: A Review of the Literature. http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/07/HumanTrafficking/LitRev/index.shtml#Introduction (Accessed July 20, 2011).

The Advocates for Human Rights • 330 Second Ave South, #800, Minneapolis, MN 55401 • 612-341-3302

Endnotes

Soodalter, Ron. A Blight on the Nation: Slavery in Today’s America. 30. April 27, 2009. http://www.policyinnovations.org/ideas/commentary/data/000122 (Accessed July 19, 2011).

Southern Poverty Law Center. “Close to Slavery.” http://www.31. splcenter.org/sites/default/files/downloads/Close_to_Slavery.pdf (Accessed July 19, 2011).

Chang, Tracy F.H. and Douglas E. Thompkins. Corporations go to 32. Prisons: The Expansion of Corporate Power into the Correctional Industry. LABOR STUDIES JOURNAL, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Spring 2002).

Child Labor Coalition. “Protecting Working Children in the United 33. States.” http://www.stopchildlabor.org/pressroom/clc%20report.pdf (Accessed July 19, 2011).

34) Preston, Julia. “Meatpacker Faces Charges of Violating Child 34. Laws.” The New York Times. Sept. 9, 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/10/us/10meat.html?_r=1 (Accessed July 19, 2011).

NCCUSA. “Report On The Mt. Olive Pickle Boycott: Farm Worker 35. Conditions.” http://www.ncccusa.org/publicwitness/mtolive/conditions.html (Accessed July 19, 2011). For more information on child labor laws in the U.S. see, Employment Standards Administration. “Guide to Child Labor Laws in the United States.” http://www.lawhelp.org/documents/214551mgusachl_en.pdf?stateabbrev=/LA/ (Accessed July 19, 2011).

“Equal Employment Opportunity: Ethnic/National Origin, Color, 36. Race, Religion & Sex Discrimination.” The U.S. Department of Labor. http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/discrimination/ethnicdisc.htm (Accessed July 19, 2011).

Elliott, James and Ryan Smith. “Race, Gender, and Workplace 37. Power.” AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW, Vol. 69 (June 2004).

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. “Enforcement 38. and Litigation Statistics.” http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/index.cfm (Accessed July 19, 2011).

IWPR. The Gender Wage Ratio: Women’s and Men’s Earnings. 39. April 2007. http://www.uark.edu/ua/fw/C350.pdf (Accessed July 19, 2011). IWPR. The Gender Wage Gap by Occupation. April 2011. http://www.iwpr.org/publications/pubs/the-gender-wage-gap-by-occupation-updated-april-2011 (Accessed July 19, 2011).

AFL-CIO. “Sexual Orientation.” http://www.aflcio.org/issues/40. jobseconomy/workersrights/rightsatwork_e/disc_sexorient.cfm (Accessed July 19, 2011).

Badgett, Lee, Holning Lau, Brad Sears, and Deborah Ho. Bias in the 41. Workplace: Consistent Evidence of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination. June 2007. The Williams Institute. http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/publications/Bias%20in%20the%20Workplace.pdf (Accessed July 19, 2011).

U.S. Code 29, § 15 (1966). http://uscode.house.gov/uscode-cgi/42. fastweb.exe?getdoc+uscview+t29t32+140+1++(29)%20%20AND%20((29)%20ADJ%20USC)%3ACITE%20AND%20(USC%20w%2F10%20(206))%3ACITE%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20 (Accessed July 19, 2011).

Human Rights Watch. Blood, Sweat, and Fear: Workers’ Rights in 43. U.S. Meat and Poultry Plants. Jan. 24, 2005. http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2005/01/24/blood-sweat-and-fear (Accessed July 19, 2011).

Ibid.44.

Oxfam America. Like Machines in the Fields: Workers without 45. Rights in American Agriculture. http://www.oxfamamerica.org/files/OA-Like_Machines_in_the_Fields.pdf (Accessed July 19, 2011).

Farmworker Justice. “Workers Compensation.” http://www.46. fwjustice.org/workplace-safety/workers-comp (Accessed July 19, 2011).

Hoffman Plastics Compounds, Inc. v. National Labor Relations 47. Board, 535 U.S. 137 (2002). http://supreme.justia.com/us/535/137/ (Accessed July 19, 2011).

U.S. Census Bureau. Poverty Thresholds. http://www.census.48. gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/threshld/index.html (Accessed July 19, 2011). Labor Law Center. Federal Minimum Wage Increase in 2007, 2008, and 2009. http://www.laborlawcenter.com/t-federal-minimum-wage.aspx (Accessed July 19, 2011).

Human Rights Watch. Fingers to the Bone. June 2, 2000. http://49. www.hrw.org/en/reports/2000/06/02/fingers-bone-0 (Accessed July 19, 2011).

Bernhardt, Annette, Ruth Milkman, Nik Theodore, Douglas 50. Heckathorn, Mirabai Auer, James DeFilippis, Ana Luz Gonzalez, Victor Narro, Jason Perelshetyn, Diana Polson, and Michael Spiller. Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers: Violations of Employment and Labor Laws in America’s Cities. 2009. http://nelp.3cdn.net/1797b93dd1ccdf9e7d_sdm6bc50n.pdf (Accessed July 19, 2011).

Spriggs, William E. The Changing Face of Poverty in America: 51. Why are so many women, children, and racial and cultural minorities still poor? April 22, 2007. http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_changing_face_of_poverty_in_america (Accessed July 19, 2011).

The U.S. is the only nation in the Organization for Economic Co-52. operation and Development (OECD) not to guarantee a single day of paid vacation or paid holidays. The 30 member countries of OECD are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States. Ray, Rebecca, and John Schmitt. No-Vacation Nation. May 2007. Center for Economic and Policy Research. http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/2007-05-no-vacation-nation.pdf (Accessed July 19, 2011); Mercer. Employee statutory and public holiday entitlements – global comparison. London, October 13, 2009. http://uk.mercer.com/summary.htm?siteLanguage=1008&idContent=1360620 (Accessed July 19, 2011); Just Landed. Working Conditions, Working Hours, Holidays and Salaries in Mexico. http://www.justlanded.com/english/Mexico/Mexico-Guide/Jobs/Working-conditions (Accessed July 19, 2011); PECO Institute. Leave and Paid Holidays. http://www.agri-info.eu/english/t_holidays.php#tr (Accessed July 19, 2011).

Ray, Rebecca, and John Schmitt. No-Vacation Nation. May 2007. 53. Center for Economic and Policy Research. http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/2007-05-no-vacation-nation.pdf (Accessed July 19, 2011).

Ibid.54.

USLegal. Employment at Will. http://employment.uslegal.com/55. employment-at-will/ (Accessed July 19, 2011).

U.S. Department of Labor. Work Hours: Sick Leave. http://www.56. dol.gov/dol/topic/workhours/sickleave.htm (Accessed July 19, 2011).

USLegal. Employment at Will. http://employment.uslegal.com/57. employment-at-will/ (Accessed July 19, 2011).

United Nations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 58. (UDHR). Preamble and Article 2. http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ (Accessed July 19, 2011). Also see, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. What are Human Rights?. http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Pages/WhatareHumanRights.aspx (Accessed July 19, 2011).

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