The legislation, titled the Paid Vacation Act of 2009 (H.R. 2564), would require businesses with 100 or more workers to provide at least one week of paid vacation to full-time employees. It would also require paid vacation for part-time employees who work 25 or more hours each week.

Three years after the passage of the Act, the amount of paid vacation for employees at companies with 100 or more employees would increase to two weeks. In addition, companies with 50 or more employees would be required to provide full and part-time employees with at least one week of paid vacation each year.

At a time of historic unemployment when most employers are scrimping and saving to maintain their workforce and others are being forced to make the hard decisions to implement layoffs and furloughs, the advent of legally-required paid vacation seems untimely, if not untenable. Although many employers currently provide paid vacation or paid time off without a legal mandate, the impact of this proposed legislation on those employers who do not offer paid time off is substantial. Indeed, even employers who currently provide paid vacation may be affected, if they are considering terminating or reducing their paid vacation programs to avoid the more severe consequences of reductions-in-force or restricted pay.

Supporters of the Act argue that it would increase worker morale and productivity, while helping to rejuvenate the tourism industry. But, is this really the time?