Another thing I’m not American enough to understand.
this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2026
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American here, so you have paid time off but greedy American capitalism boss can deny for any reason. Not enough staff, busy company time, favoritism, or simply fuck you I dont like you.
Some companies can give you monies at the end of year for your paid time off, but some don't and it's wasted due to greedy capitalism boss and given to the company casue companies have better rights then people.
For example my company and boss I work for is cool about giving time off when requested, however starting next year my company will not pay out unused PTO because reasons.
Hope this helps!
An old job of mine would constantly deny my PTO requests. It was weird - I'd always have to call in sick on those days anyway. Funny how the world works.
Yeah, the problem is with the wording. This isn't a request. It's a notice. I will not be here these days. Prepare for my absence or don't, up to you. Again, I won't be here to deal with the fallout in either case.
I had a greedy capitalist boss once who wanted to deny unpaid time off.
I literally told him, "I'm not going to be here on those days. If I still have a job when I get back, that's nice. If I don't, that's okay too." I'm not going to work at any job that thinks they own me like a slave. And guess what -- when I came back, I did still have a job.
The issue is that they specifically forced us to use a program that calls them requests and clarifies that they can be denied for any reason. Verbal agreements aren't valid. One time they even accepted my request through the program, then denied it a few days later because one of the managers wanted to take that day off and they didn't want too few staff members there. You bet your ass I was "sick" that day.
Such a weird thing from a european perspective. Here in Germany, you as a worker are obligated to take your vacation days. It even can happen that your boss asks you to take your vacation if you forget to.
I wish it was like that, I even work for a German company, but don't get treated quite as nice. I guess for American standards, and it's low unfortunately, it's a good company to work for.
I guess that's cause our laws force companies to make their employees take the mandated pto else they'd get into trouble. But they can aparently get away with treating overseas workers worse
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Depending on the state you live in, that may be illegal. Many states consider accrued PTO as part of your compensation and you must be paid at your hourly rate (or salary equivalent if necessary) upon leaving the company.
That's one reason why companies started "unlimited" pto. It's no longer part of your compensation so they no longer have to pay it out since how much is "unlimited" worth? That said it's still not unlimited because you have responsibilities which if you don't complete because you were on pto still counts against you.
Thank you for the explanation. But isn't the phrasing in the meme totally soul-crushing?
You get 40 hours this year - all year - where you don't have to work for us.
(uttered by some company suit)
seems to be the implication.
In Europe, even part-time workers' time off is counted in "days off." Even if the end result were the same, I just think it sounds a lot nicer for the employee. "Hey boss, I won't be coming in for the next two weeks. Nah, make that three."
Which state do you live in? It’s very illegal to not pay out unused PTO in many states.
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I think PTO is just like regular vacation in other civilized countries? Just less of it
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When I “request” time off, it’s not a request. It’s a notification. I will be gone. The work needed to be done is done or will be done by the deadlines. Any emergencies that arise in the meantime will be dealt with when I’m back. If my request is denied, that’s not my problem, I will still be gone.
Exactly. If I give you sufficient notice, 2 weeks is probably a good minimum, and no one else is taking off at that time, that's a you problem if you can't cover it. If your team is not structured such that you can honor PTO with sufficient notice, you are not offering PTO. You are lying about benefits.
As an employer (and thus an evil capitalist pigdog etc.) I've always applied the rule of the thumb that "twice the holiday duration as notice" is polite to the employer and your colleagues who will cover for you - so two days notice for a day off, two weeks notice for a week off, a month's notice for two weeks off, etc.
"Polite" does not mean "mandatory" of course - circumstances can dictate that sometimes you have to break the rule of thumb and that's fine.
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Yeah that's my approach too. If I want to be available then I will be, but if I'm off, I'm off, the pto is my right to turn off work and do "me" for the day.
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How to use PTO:
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Text boss I'm not coming in today.
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Go back to bed.
I ALWAYS told any of my employees that if you got PTO denied outside of actual blackout times, it'd be ashame if you happened to be sick for those exact days you requested.
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Once you learn that the United States is one massive scam, all of the pieces fit into place.
I used to love when my boss would deny PTO. I told him straight up after a while that my PTO request was a polite notification that I will not be there during that time, and whether he solved that problem now or when it rolled around was up to him.
Is 40 hours the entire entitlement for the year? I've heard that USians don't get much leave, but just a week seems ridiculous. Or is that what they're booking this time, that seems more reasonable. Still shouldn't be an issue just to book a week off. I'd get it if they were trying to do a three week block or something.
Some jobs have zero pto! Its not required federally, and most states dont have regulations about it afaik.
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Yes 40 for the year, and 40 isn't even guaranteed. It is typically what you could earn over an entire year of full time work. A lot of jobs don't even give you the hours up front, you earn it as you work.
Some don't get any PTO. Zero.
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Unrelated, but I'm going be sick those days. Strange coincidence.
How to use PTO:
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