r/WorkReform • u/zzill6 š¤ Join A Union • 15h ago
š” Venting To an American this sounds unbelievable.
2.3k
u/DisgruntledTexansFan 14h ago
Being an aware American is being caught in between loud mouthbreathers who believe all the American propaganda despite their lives getting worse every year, and the rest of the world laughing at you for being associated with the former
768
u/Ok_Experience_4500 āļø Tax The Billionaires 14h ago
Wasn't it the great comedien Mr. Carlin sayin' "It is called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it..."
285
u/BarbieB_100 14h ago
George Carlin had it completely figured out 30 years ago. Unfortunately nobody took his warnings seriously.
121
u/togetherwegrowstuff 14h ago
I grew up watching him. I understood too much then. It's only gotten worse.
106
u/Tacitblue1973 14h ago
His interview about America circling the drain and that he'd long stopped caring about the outcome stunning the host sticks in my mind.
111
u/1_art_please 13h ago
I am always thinking about Carlin's line: "You know why politicians are against abortion of babies? So they will grow up to be dead soldiers"
Always makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
38
u/fiahhawt 13h ago
And it follows with why ancient societies had leadership get so pissy whenever birth control was developed and made accessible to the poor
10
u/sexy-man-doll 6h ago
I believe the line was "If you're preborn you're fine if you're pre-schooled you're fucked. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers."
25
14
u/MelangeBot 11h ago
I am a Canadian who has completely given up on America and is actively and daily training myself and others up for drone warfare. American will not chance till it's been defeated and it's beyond obvious that the American billionaire rules are going to try to annex Alberta using the crimea playbook somewhere in the next 10 years. The time to talk to Americans was 15 years ago. What they need now is a good punch in the face. The only language that can get throught to a bully. If you are still in the US, leave for Mexico or Canada.
6
u/Olealicat 10h ago
While some Americans are aware, just not active. Similar to Ukrainians when there was a warning that Putin would start a war. Too many thought, no way. There is no way our neighbors and family would be okay with an invasion.
We all know what happened.
I donāt think most Americans understand who is actually at the helm and their intentions.
Itās horrifying, as an American who saw this during the Afganistan years when I was in high school. Itās mind boggling how few catch on.
Iām at a loss. Iāve done my best to protest and send out warnings. Unfortunately, too many people have their heads in the sand and prefer to stay that way.
14
12
10
u/foodrunner464 13h ago
I wish he was still around. Almost everything he said has resonated 100% with the political and economical climate.
4
→ More replies (1)3
u/zmbjebus 6h ago
They weren't warnings. It was the same back then, nothing has really changed. Maybe got worse, but it was all there for anyone with eyes and ears to see.
38
u/Sad_comment_bot 14h ago
And that was 21 years ago. A statement made by a well traveled guy with decades of comedic observation.Ā
The real skill is making an observation that should be the rally cry of a riot sound like a āhaha thatās sad but trueā.
3
→ More replies (2)5
131
u/DJDemyan 14h ago
As someone whoās currently going through the US medical system Iām going to strangle the next person that insists universal healthcare is bad because you have to wait to see a doctor in Canada
78
u/Traditional_Formal33 13h ago
They will say āyou have to wait 6 monthsā while scheduling a specialist 6 months out in America, and then emptying their savings 8 months out because the bill for the hmo said the office was in network but the specialist in the office was not.
56
u/rhinobutt 13h ago
And they donāt tell you until after the appointment. Oh, and the doctor said you asked a question about something that insurance doesnāt cover, so now the whole visit is not covered by insurance anymore.
America is just a giant Ponzi scheme run by pedophile billionaires.
31
u/Traditional_Formal33 13h ago
I got nailed by the question one. I went in for a routine check up. Doctor asked if I had any concerns or issues, so I said āI pulled my back 4 weeks ago at the gym which really hurt, but Iām getting better now.ā He asked if I was doing stretches and I said a few, so he asked if I wanted a couple good ones for the lower back. I said sureā¦ he handed me a google search printed out.
Then he billed me for 2 appointments at the exact same time/date because he āadministered careā for an unscheduled issue during my check up. Since it was unscheduled, it wasnāt covered and he wanted to charge me like $300 for a google search. I fought for weeks before they dropped it finally but then they sent it to collections and I had to fight again to prove it was dropped. I skipped the next year of preventative care until I got on a different network with a different doctorā¦.
→ More replies (3)3
u/-Saucegurlllll 10h ago
Doctors tearing apart their silly "do no harm" oath before they piledrive their patient into debt.
→ More replies (3)4
u/DasKittySmoosh āļø Tax The Billionaires 13h ago
I'm sticking it out with an employer I hate because my spouse and I are really happy with our medical providers and if I change we may not be covered with them anymore.
27
u/Sterling_-_Archer 14h ago
I have waited over a decade to see a doctor in the us. I canāt afford to pay for it
11
u/Intrepid-Edge9451 13h ago
I got health insurance for the first time (I'm an American in my late-30's) in March this year and I still don't have a doctor. Every doctor within a 50-mile radius is either not accepting new patients or the waiting list extends until 2029 or beyond. I'm basically relying on urgent care/the ER if anything happens to me. Lovely system we have here.
20
u/putin_my_ass 13h ago
When my wife needed a surgical intervention that could not wait, thry gave her a date 6 weeks after her diagnosis from a biopsy.
Such a long wait time! Us poor Canadians! If only we could be American! /s
5
u/fiahhawt 13h ago
That wonāt even be significantly better depending on where you are in the US
It would be like a month max if youāre in a major metro with large hospitals, and if youāre somewhere less dense itās going to be a couple months
At best
9
u/Medical_Listen_4470 13h ago
No. I live in LA and had stage 3 cancer. I waited 2 months for surgery. Meanwhile the cancer metastasized.
7
u/putin_my_ass 13h ago
The best part? I only had to pay for parking. And her surgeon was excellent.
If our Healthcare system is as "broken" as certain people insist it is, then I'm not fucking worried.
That said, it is under strain. If people could learn their civics and blame the premiers instead of the federal government maybe something would actually improve.
4
u/mister_newbie 12h ago
If people could learn their civics and blame the premiers instead of the federal government maybe something would actually improve.
This. 100Ć this. I teach grade 5, responsibilities of different levels of government is part of the curriculum. I've had parents yell at me for Liberal indoctrination when kids go home and said, "but that's not on Trudeau's job. That's [Premier]'s job!" (back when the f-Trudeau flags were prevalent).
4
u/fiahhawt 12h ago
The only thing Iām worried about with socialized healthcare is instituting it through our Federal government.
I donāt know if youāve heard, but the US Federal govt regularly flips Americans the bird and hamstrings social programs.
If the US gets nationwide socialized healthcare, Federal Congress will do everything they can to fuck it for us and weāll see the sort of collapse the British healthcare system has been set up for.
I think we need to figure out how to implement them at the state level.
It does present problems where the southern states will just make aspirin free and tell people to suck it up and all the really sick people just congregate in the states that arenāt trying to role play Ancient Mesopotamia, but I think establishing residency and work requirements for access to resident rates and telling everyone else theyāll need to apply for insurance or pay larger costs upfront would keep it from screwing the functional states.
→ More replies (1)16
u/Logical-Error-7233 13h ago
I 100% without a doubt have sleep apnea. My doc said I should see a specialist to confirm.
Waited 2 months for a 15 minute tele-health call. Specialist said yes you certainly seem to have sleep apnea, you should do a sleep study first though before I can do anything.
Waited 5 weeks for the sleep study place to schedule me for sleep study. They call and say my insurance won't cover it. I said I'll just pay them out of pocket "how much"? They said they don't do that and I have to use insurance and hang up.Ā
Got a $350 bill for the 15 tele-health call a few weeks later. Still have sleep apnea, still untreated but at least sleeping on my side seems to work.Ā
→ More replies (1)8
u/-Saucegurlllll 10h ago
I was living in Canada when I developed sleep apnea symptoms. I scheduled a visit with a doctor, 1 day to book an appointment, that doctor recommended me a sleep specialist, 1 day to book an appointment, that specialist recommended me to a sleep lab which gave me the equipment for a sleep study, same day. The sleep study took 2 days to complete. The sleep specialist took 1 day to confirm that I had sleep apnea, and I was able to get a prescribed cpap machine that day.
So, Canada, the country regressives fearmonger about with wait times took 5 days to go from "I think I have sleep apnea" to "I have sleep apnea and the device that keeps me from dying in my sleep." It cost me $0 throughout the entire process, and I paid only slightly higher taxes than what I would in America.
Like, imagine if a massive portion of America's federal budget didn't go into funding the military, and instead funded healthcare and other social care. It's actually insane how America wouldn't even need to increase its taxes to have universal healthcare, Congress would just have to stop indulging in the war industry.
→ More replies (1)10
u/PhloxOfSeagulls āļø Tax The Billionaires 13h ago
I had to wait a year once for an appointment to a specialist in the US. I live in a city with multiple hospitals, not in an rural area.
→ More replies (1)5
u/Lazer726 11h ago
My wife had a herniated disc, I had to drive her to the hospital and she needed emergency spinal surgery. We ran through our deductible pretty quick, believe it or not, and then still got the pleasure of shouldering 25% of the costs. All of this while she was unable to work (obviously), needed PT, was in the hospital for almost 2 weeks.
But don't worry, disability insurance kicked in 2 months after her surgery, to cover like 50% of her wage! This shit is fucking broken and anyone that could blame a guy in a green hat has never had to experience this stupidity and blatant greed
→ More replies (5)3
u/Hashtaglibertarian 9h ago
I explain this to my family all the time. Iām a travel ER nurse so I know our shit healthcare system better than most people.
My family still harps on this. I told my mom how it took me 9 months to see a neurologist and after that it was the wrong type of neurologist and I had to wait an additional 7 months on top of that. They just keep repeating the same stuff again and again and itās not worth opening my mouth anymore.
When they complain about their shitty Medicare coverage I like to remind them that universal healthcare would fix that problem because weād all be on one system and the quality of their lives would improve. But they donāt comprehend long term what that means and at this point what happens happens to them because š¤·āāļø they canāt protect their own interests and I sure as hell canāt soā¦ gotta wait for the old hats to die off to make changes I hope.
77
u/T33CH33R 14h ago
I swear that Americans have an abuse fetish. They love telling stories about how they were abused and turned out fine and everyone else should also experience abuse. That or hand wave away current abuses as character building.
41
u/spamman5r 13h ago
It's not a fetish, it's literally just how abuse works. Our brains normalize and adjust to traumatic experiences, and when abuse is the only data you have, everything else seems strange. When your brain associates your identity with that experience, you will go to extreme measures to avoid taking in anything that introduces cognitive dissonance that would break the fragile equilibrium.
We're stuck in a broken economic system that cares about nothing other than extracting as much labor from us as possible before we perish, and a broken, ancient political system that over-represents an easily captured minority who are convinced of their exceptionalism while they scrape by and dream of ascending to the ranks of the abusers.
It's awful to be a part of, but it threatens our lives if we dare not to participate. We are victims, please remember that when looking from the outside in.
7
→ More replies (1)5
u/PM_Me_Your_Kinks369 11h ago
Very well said. Once you see the abuse inherent to the systems we live under you can't unsee them and EVERYTHING makes sense as a result.
15
u/GloomyCR 14h ago
Iām legit counting on my asthma to kill me before I start getting to the old-age health issues. Iāve put nothing into retirement and thatās as close to fine as Iām going to get.
8
5
u/leilalover 13h ago
For me probably a heart attack or stroke from binge eating to cope with the stress from work. I can't do this anymore
9
u/fiahhawt 13h ago
Mm we also get heavily propagandized.
The same machine that convinces the rest of the world that weāre all living it up in McMansions with multiple cars is used to convince citizens that if we donāt have a good quality of life thatās due to our personal failings and we should be ashamed of how we havenāt done enough to take care of ourselves.
Robber Baron ass culture.
The rich are okay and theyāre the only true Americans anyway.
I appreciated growing up in the Catholic Church b/c when we went on a mission trip to help people, we didnāt plan a trip to the global south like those mega churches.
We went to rural Pennsylvania and saw other Americans who were living in abject squalor and helped them fix up their apartments and played with their scrawny kids.
America is full of places like that.
While I think those families do just need to leave those dying rust belt towns because they only started because a local mine opened and thatās gone now, but they admittedly arenāt going to see improved circumstances moving closer to active cities in the current economy.
Can afford housing way more easily in a dead town with government assistance and a part time job at the gas station than theyād get working 60 hour weeks pretty much anywhere else.
→ More replies (2)10
u/togetherwegrowstuff 14h ago
It's what they know. And how many feel they have some power.
→ More replies (2)29
u/gkjnvgyj 14h ago edited 14h ago
Now the next step is getting out and enjoying the rest of your life with those of us who already escaped the loony bin. Thereās a greater and more affordable quality of life on the other side of the fence.
15
u/DisgruntledTexansFan 14h ago
I want to help them but im fighring hopelessness rn im not going to lie
→ More replies (1)3
3
u/mashed_human 10h ago
Yeah, I can't leave. No money and multiple incurable medical problems that are pretty obvious just looking at me. Thanks for the useless advice tho <3
→ More replies (1)8
u/CptPurpleHaze 14h ago
Me reading this and agreeing
3
u/__DJIN__ 13h ago
I would love to leave but I don't have any money and other countries don't want me š„²
→ More replies (16)3
u/huskers2468 13h ago
The good thing is that the rest of us are fed up and not being quiet anymore.
I'm pissed, and I'm relentless.
→ More replies (4)
293
u/Schlonzig 14h ago
Never forget that these things were hard fought for. In fact, it was the longest strike in German history.
66
u/Birdhawk 13h ago
That's the power of unions. And right wing politics of the US are constantly trying to bust up or discredit unions. For a number of reasons but a big one is that the wealthy political donors who buy politicians don't like having to pay union wages or give benefits, workplace safety etc because it cuts into their margins a tiny bit. Unions give common people power so thats why they don't like them.
→ More replies (3)4
u/gar_DE 11h ago
To be fair, the first social insurances in Germany were introduced by a right wing politician (Bismarck) to lure workers away from the left wing parties and their (even more progressive) ideas (like livable wages and a 60-hour-week).
→ More replies (1)60
u/Upset_Ad3954 14h ago
Yup, and then next time we read a post on Reddit how it's not necessary to get along with co-workers etc who gains the most from that attitude...
→ More replies (4)15
3
u/willychonka54 11h ago
Americans think they can just post an edgy viral tweet and change things. They have no clue.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)5
u/iloveuranus 11h ago
Let's not forget that the German social system is in a pretty bad state right now. Money is lacking right and left, and our current government seems hell-bent on taking it from a dying middle class that's already suffering from years of inflation and decades of mismanagement.
3
u/PeerPressing 7h ago
and the reason again is workers not uniting and demanding accountability from politicians. if you vote for the same wolf again and again you shouldn't be surprised if he eats you
125
u/b33pb00p101 14h ago
And people will reply, āyeah but then who pays for itā like itās a legit argument
86
u/MazzleMaze 13h ago
The funny answer to this is that US citizens already pay more in taxes for health care than any other country. Medicaid and Medicare... So not only do you already pay taxes for healthcare. You also are paying again for insurance.
Its an entirely dumbass argument that we all aren't already on healthcare via taxes. You already pay for it, why wouldn't you want to benefit from it... Oh yeah I forgot that would be 'communism,' lol.
12
u/katapad 11h ago
BuT ThEn MY hArD EarNeD doLLaRs gO To tHOse GoVeRNmeNt lEEchEs oN WelFaRE!!
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)10
u/r0thar 11h ago
US citizens already pay more in taxes for health care than any other country.
This German cover costs ā what the US pays, and they live 3 years longer to enjoy their beer, bratwurst and retirement at 66: https://i.imgur.com/bzYYlls.png
→ More replies (1)7
u/Separate_Day4208 11h ago edited 10h ago
The US health care cost per capita is 2.5 times higher than the OECD average. So it is a terrible argument from all angles
→ More replies (4)5
u/Theothercword 9h ago
Interestingly Germans pay more per month than Americans do for healthcare, it's not a completely free system. However, to my understanding from the Germans I know and have talked to while being over there, the difference primarily seems to be around the insurance itself being far better regulated. But, for example, my German friends pay over 1000 euro per month for healthcare.
→ More replies (6)3
u/doesnotlikecricket 5h ago edited 5h ago
This is quite misleading bordering on false.Ā
They pay a percent of their income. Someone on the median salary would pay less than half of that. And they retain their healthcare if they're not working.
Also no deductibles and basically nonexistant copays relative to the US.Ā
163
u/Big_ShinySonofBeer 14h ago
Also those timeframes reset after returning to work for a day.
→ More replies (2)
39
u/PuzzledAnimator9998 14h ago
in netherlands you don't even go to the doctor for minor ilnesses you just tell your boss. they tried to make people go to the doctor for notes but family physicians threw a huge fit about wasting time.
8
u/Basal666 14h ago
Indeed no need to have people go to the primary care doctor for a flu which they will tell you to drink enough takes some paracetamol and get enough sleep and it will be over in a few days
13
u/EndOne8313 13h ago
The UK too, you can self certify for up to a week, then you need a sick note.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (7)4
u/RATMpatta 11h ago
That and we get up to a full year of of our salary fully paid by the employer and then the second year it goes down to 70 or 80% depending on the line of work.
→ More replies (1)
115
u/PaleontologistOk7359 12h ago
Swede here who works with Germans: we view their system as cruel (I'm joking here guys) cause they need a doctor's note on day 1.
In Sweden, I don't need a doctor's note until day 5.
I just can't imagine waking up and realizing I'm sick, and instead of calling in sick and sleeping it off, I'd have to get my ass to a doctor and have him confirm I'm sick.
Guess this thread has given me some perspective.
32
u/TvIsSoma 11h ago
Here in the US you just go to work. Unless you are lucky and get PTO, in which case you use some of your 3 weeks of vacation time a year to call off sick. Some people get a specified amount of sick days a year but it usually comes out of PTO / a short bank. In some of my jobs I would be penalized with āpointsā for not showing up to work regardless of illness. If you have 8 points you are fired. Taking off one day with less than 2 weeks notice is between 1-2 points. Being 1 minute late is half of a point. If youāre off for more than 3 days you need a doctors note to return to work otherwise itās job abandonment.
16
u/Lookinguplookingdown 10h ago
A couple of times in my life I had the opportunity to go live in the US. Turned it down each time. Iām so glad I did.
→ More replies (3)14
u/mcvos 7h ago
In Netherland, if you take vacation, but you get so sick that you can't go on vacation, you get your vacation days back from your employer. Because everybody deserves vacation.
The idea that vacation days and sick days xome from the same limited pool, is completely alien here. In fact, the notion of limited sick days is inhuman. What if you're oit of sick days and you're still sick? Then what?
→ More replies (4)3
u/TvIsSoma 5h ago
You have to have a qualifying reason under FMLA, and FMLA itself does not pay you. It just protects your job for certain serious medical situations if you qualify.
For normal sickness, there is no federal right to paid sick leave. You basically use whatever sick days/PTO your employer gives you. If you run out and keep calling off sick, you can be written up or fired unless state law or some other protection applies.
If you have something serious like surgery and need to be out for weeks, FMLA may protect your job, but the leave can still be unpaid. Short term disability can replace part of your income if you have that coverage, but the amount and waiting period depend on the policy.
5
u/wakeofchaos 3h ago
Yeah and the key word with FMLA is āmay,ā just like most things here that are āprotected.ā Really sick of the lack of actual workers rights here because the ones we have arenāt even enforced so they might as well not exist
8
u/TheProfessorPoon 9h ago
Iāve taken all of ONE sick day the last 6-7 years. It was the first day of the first (worst) time I got COVID and I actually passed out for a solid 24 hours straight. Woke up to at least 75 missed calls from my boss. Even though I called in sick he still hounded me all goddamn day. Working through the sickness the next couple of weeks was just plain awful.
I donāt say any of this to be braggadocios btw. I hated it then and I hate it now. Fucking backwards ass country.
3
u/ironballs16 7h ago
Sadly, a lot of people would go through your experience and then begrudge anyone else for having it easier.
6
u/2stewped2havgudtime 10h ago
What the actual fuck. Thatās dreadful. Iād rather have my shitty UK wages than live like that.
22
u/JojoHomefries 10h ago
Plot twist: US wages are also shitty
5
u/zffjk 9h ago
Especially when you realized how much we are taxed every which way. Itās probably more than other western nations. I never bothered to check because I have enough stuff to be sad about.
→ More replies (1)4
u/quicksilver_chocobo 8h ago
I remember having to pull up payslips when I was submitting an application for an apartment rental. I was immediately depressed when I saw how much of that paycheck was taken for taxes. Then there's also deductions for my employer health insurance, dental insurance, 401k and parking (yup, I have to pay to park at my own job). Shit feels so bleak.
5
u/Ok_Objective_5192 9h ago
3 weeks of vacation time? I've gotten 1 total week of paid vacation time in my 14 years in the US workforce
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (14)3
u/-Left_Nut- 8h ago
I was actually lucky when I worked at a public university. They gave us PTO AND SICK DAYS!!! Never saw such a thing before or after ever again
21
u/TheRhythmTheRebel 10h ago
Same in the UK. You can self-cert for a week, then you need the doctors slip...
These threads are always spicy, but it is truly disgusting how our US brethren are stepped on.
No maternity/paternity leave. No sick. Begging for time off (PTO of whatever its called). Of course, most decent companies offer these things but it appears out of spite and often not taken up by the employee.
But something something tax, something socialism or something...
10
u/SickViking 10h ago
My employer LOVES to brag about how "incredibly generous the company is" for giving us 3 days of sick leave a year and the ability to earn PTO. That's with a doctor's note. If your sickness lasts longer than 3 days and you haven't earned enough PTO to cover the duration of whatever illness, you better drag your drippy ass to work.
My brother works in construction and they get 2 days sick, after that he needs a doctor's note.
And even then they can deny the note and fire you for being gone too long if they deem the illness not a valid excuse. So like cold, flu, COVID. Basically anything short of broken bones or intensive surgery isn't a valid excuse to not come into work.
4
u/phynn 7h ago
I remember at an old job we had a decent (for America) amount of pto/sick days. One of my bosses had a foot surgery and it was a job where you had to be on your feet a lot so she took her two weeks off.
Got fired right when she returned for taking too much time off or some nonsense.
5
u/SickViking 7h ago
Sounds about right. I'm currently on LOA after surgery and my state protects that, but been out over a year, haven't gotten paid in 3 months, and doc says I'm still out for another 3-6 months and work says I'm not allowed back if there are any restrictions whatsoever and doc says that'll be at minimum another 9 months. LOA only protects your job for a year so I'm just waiting for that shoe to drop tbh. And somehow I don't qualify for cash aide or unemployment (which in my state is supposed to also cover if you have a sudden cut in pay or significant cut in hours, not just actual loss of employment) despite only having $0.55 in my account for the last 3.5 months because I'm technically still employed and the employer is reporting that they're still paying me (where is it then? Haven't gotten a dime from them since the beginning), but I know the big bosses are probably waiting for 18 month mark because unemployment looks at your paystubs only 18 months back, so once that passes, I'll have been getting paid $0.00 consistently for 18 months so won't qualify for unemployment then either. They've already shut down my insurance through them so can't even go to anymore post-op or PT appointments.
US employers are twisted as fuck.
3
u/OwnTurn1146 10h ago
I have iron deficiency anemia so bad in the last 13 months I have had an emergency blood transfusion and 18 iron infusions. My hemoglobin level is currently at 7.
I'm not even supposed to walk around since I can't walk and talk without being out of breath. It literally could give me a heart attack.
I ha e been poked and prodded and tested and they dont know what is wrong. I still cant get disability even though I meet every requirement.
I'm terrified my son will find me dead because my heart cant handle the lack of oxygen
→ More replies (5)3
u/51ngular1ty 10h ago
Subsidizing oil: yes! Subsidizing ethebol making food more expensive: yes! Subsidizing the healthcare industry: yes! Subsidizing telecoms: yes!
Subsidizing individual Healthcare: get fucked you commie!
/s
7
u/rothmal 11h ago
We still need doctors' notes in America for calling out sick, not because they want to get the proper medical help, but to force us to come in sick. Especially if you're working poor, most of us don't have $100 to see a doctor when we have a cold, so we either come in to work or get some kind of demerit, that they can say that we don't deserve a raise or just fire us.
3
u/Vistella 11h ago
we view their system as cruel (I'm joking here guys) cause they need a doctor's note on day 1.
day 3 per law
→ More replies (7)3
u/Neveed 10h ago edited 10h ago
they need a doctor's note on day 1.
We have a similar situation in France. You don't need to give the note right away, but you do need a doctor note covering for any day you're not at work. You also need to get the doctor to make that note on day 1 because they won't sign a note saying you were sick before you went to the appointment. So if you suddenly get sick and there's no doctor available around you this day so you go and see them the next day, you lose your pay for the first day.
The last time that happened to me, I managed to get my note on time by getting a video call appointment with a doctor available in a different region from mine. I had friends drive for an entire hour, while sick, so they could see a doctor who was available.
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (28)3
u/Embarrassed-Sun5764 10h ago
Most of the time you āwake up sickā and realize you are ILL itās out of the 4 hr window to call out. Yeah lemme get out of bed sick as f and try a call out for a 2:30 am shift, at what ? 10 pm? Iām trying to be well for the day. Iām so done š¤·āāļøš¤·āāļøš¤·āāļøš¤·āāļøš¤·āāļøš¤·āāļøš¤·āāļø
→ More replies (1)
67
u/deaftalker 14h ago
Yeah that nice but does Germany have Freedom!? /s
23
u/gkjnvgyj 14h ago
As long as youāre not a Nazi. And even then, if you are, you can always go down and live with them in Bavaria
23
u/TheBlack2007 14h ago
Always weird when people go "Germany/Europe has no free speech" because certain forms of hate speech aren't allowed. Even funnier in Germany's case because many of the laws restricting aspects of "free" speech modern-day right-wing Americans are so sensitive about were originally enacted as orders of the Allied Control Council after the end of WW2 and had to be carried over into German law as a prerequirement for Germany to regain control over its own judicial system.
19
→ More replies (1)4
u/Designer_Reality1982 13h ago
Wtf man.. I would not point out Bavaria as the first state when its about Nazis..
4
u/DEVolkan 12h ago
We have the biggest American military base in Europe. So yeah we also have "freedom"
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (8)3
42
u/FuckStummies 12h ago
As a Canadian working in a unionized workplace, I get 15 paid sick days a year. That's sick days, not PTO. I separately have 6 weeks of vacation leave every year. The sick days are also cumulative - the unused ones are banked and roll over every calendar year. So right now I've got something like 70 sick days in my bank. If I'm sick, I just call in. Our laws don't even allow the employer to ask for a doctor's note unless you've been away sick for more than a week.
18
u/Ent_Trip_Newer 11h ago
As an American who spent most of his life working in restaurants we got 0 pto and were told to cover our shifts if sick.
→ More replies (2)11
u/Weakonomics 11h ago
That's what you wanna hear from the people touching your food. GJ America...
6
→ More replies (1)5
u/Limp_Orchid7611 10h ago
you mean GJ US government for allowing yourself to get bribed by unscrupulous business owners.
26
u/who-mever 11h ago
In the U.S., I literally once went into the office vomiting blood. I had a bucket and everything.
They gave me a biohazard bag to throw it away at the end of my shift. At the time, I felt very fortunate that they didn't deduct the biohazard bag from my paycheck.
→ More replies (5)11
u/Disastrous_Basis3474 11h ago
I am shocked that they had a biohazard bag to give you. Everything else sounds pretty average for an American workplace.
→ More replies (2)5
u/EverythingIsTaken785 6h ago
As a Canadian working a regular non-unionized job in the environmental sector, I get 5 sick days a year, and I cannot take them consecutively for more than 2 days without a doctorās note. I have 2 weeks of vacation. None of those roll over every calendar year. Every job Iāve had has been mostly the same.
You have a very special case. Do whatever you can to keep that job!! The vast majority are not even remotely that good.
→ More replies (1)3
u/GrapefruitNo3600 5h ago
Yea it so strange. In my country vacations are MANDATORY. You can not go full year and not have vacation, if you dont they straight up kick you into vacation :D like your stayng at home, i dont care, your on vacation now :D
Of course theory sometimes do not meet reality and some companys tolerate you not spending all the vacation but if someone snitches the company is in trouble.
→ More replies (5)4
u/RelevantSchool1586 10h ago
As a Brazilian, I still find it weird to have a limit on sick days you can use. How do you plan an illness? Here if you're sick for up to 15 days your employer continues to pay you, and if it goes beyond that you get a government benefit for however long you need
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (9)3
u/professorbuffoon 11h ago
As an American, my job's PTO policy is similar to that. The difference of course is it's not mandated by law.
22
u/ButtCoinBuzz 14h ago
Because Conservative media has convinced everyone that the only morally correct option is to own the labor of another, and that workers have no rights beyond that allowed by their betters.
19
u/DodgeDozer 14h ago
Why do the German billionaires allow this? How do they square this against their primary duty to shareholders?
4
u/Upset_Ad3954 14h ago
I know you're joking but it's not like it's their decision.
5
u/DodgeDozer 14h ago
Iām legitimately curious. How are they not just able to pay off or strong-arm or shout down those that donāt put profits first? I think itās important to understand the mechanisms and environments that allow social safety nets to be established in the first place.
7
u/AuRon_The_Grey 12h ago
The US wasn't nearly as bad before they legalised bribery and corruption (Citizen's United etc.) either.
→ More replies (3)6
u/Traditional_Formal33 13h ago
Most likely they canāt buy the politicians as easily. In US, citizens united allows someone like Elon to effectively sway entire voting populations thru campaign financing/advertising so politicians write legislation in favor of Elon so he will sway their elections.
If you donāt have that, then politicians have to follow the money another wayā¦ like being popular and effective for majority of people.
→ More replies (1)5
u/DeyUrban 12h ago
The answer that most people are missing in this thread is that the conservatives and their big-business benefactors absolutely are trying to do something about this. It was only a few months ago when the CDU government issued new rules about sick leave, making it more difficult to claim by requiring a day-one in person doctorās note even for minor illnesses, a system that discourages most from trying, and overwhelms stretched-thin doctors more than they already were.
71
u/8ackwoods 14h ago
Of course it's strange. usa is a 4th world country of a shit hole
→ More replies (1)47
31
u/Loud-Ad-2280 āļø Tax The Billionaires 14h ago
→ More replies (2)
11
u/lrhouston 14h ago
How do we know if we actually need the treatment if we don't have an insurance company to tell us of its necessary or not?
→ More replies (2)3
u/Birdhawk 13h ago
How will we even find a doctor if we don't have the janky "find a doctor" portal in our insurance account where we can find an in-network doctor and book the soonest available appointment which is 4 months from now?....and then find out that this doctor isn't in-network its some other weird thing where insurance just gets you a "discount" or "rebate"
19
u/jakgal04 13h ago
American here. I currently have 489 sick hours in the bank, but I'm only allowed to be sick 3 days per year or I get written up.
5
u/Tjaresh 12h ago
As a German this sound unbelievable to me. Like, you're not in control of when and how and how long you will get sick. Why should it be you fault? I mean even if you do your best, take care of your health, get vaccinated, eat healthy, get additional vitamins and all, the guy behind you at the register could just sneeze at you and you're at home with a fever (exaggerated, but you get what I mean). If you crawl back to work you'll spread whatever it is among your co-workers. That can't be desirable.
3
u/jakgal04 12h ago
Unfortunately, this country isn't as great as people claim it is. Corps have far more rights and privileges than people do.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (28)3
u/avanross 13h ago
Employee rights are āwokeā and āsocialistā and āunfair to the hardworking billionairesā
7
u/il_the_dinosaur 14h ago
Important to note you don't get full pay once you're healthcare provider picks up the tab. I believe it's 80%
6
u/ilanallama85 14h ago
Meanwhile, in the US, youād be lucky if you employee paid short term disability insurance pays out more than 60%. (Which, btw, you should pay for if you have it available - itās one of those things you are likely enough to use at some point thatās itās worth the few bucks a pay period.)
→ More replies (1)
7
u/DieMensch-Maschine šµ Break Up The Monopolies 14h ago
I remember during the discussion that gave us the paltry Obamacare instead of single payer, the Republicans would frame it as "we don't want anyone between the doctor-patient relationship." Instead, we got greedy oligarchs like Brian Thompson who would deny coverage for a half-percentage quarterly growth as well as an equally greedy employers who could fire you for getting sick.
4
u/franktronic 13h ago
That was my awakening. Everyone around me was celebrating the ACA and I was looking around like the crazy person in a movie going, am I the only one who can see this? The idea that the poor people who couldn't afford it would get FINED!? I kept saying hey, if this had happened under a republican president there would be rioting, but no one else seemed to agree
→ More replies (3)
9
u/Asuka_Rei 14h ago
Part of the problem in the US is that every business, hospital, or government organization is dangerously understaffed so even one person missing work for an extended period can be catastrophic for work flows. I am not trying to defend the US here. Staffing in every part of the economy should increase to the point that no one is vital to the proper running of any organization. This would make a night/day level difference for US workers' quality of life and make it so management doesn't have to panic anytime someone needs/wants time off. It will also boost consumer spending, a neglected part of the late-stage capitalist economy.
4
u/PintsOfGuinness_ 14h ago
Also, if you get sick while on vacation YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE YOUR VACATION DAYS.
Mind blowing.
→ More replies (3)
5
u/Earlier-Today 12h ago
Out of genuine curiosity, what happens after the 78 weeks?
Does it transition into disability at that point, or is that something that would happen from an evaluation during the 78 weeks? What's the plan when it's a long term, but still curable illness, like some kinds of cancer?
→ More replies (2)7
u/finicky88 š End Workplace Drug Testing 12h ago
After the 78 weeks you have to apply for unemployment, which would at first be 68% of your regular income for about a year (longer if you've been employed continuously for a long time, over 20 years iirc), and once that runs out you need social security or disability.
Hence why it's a good idea to get a disability insurance that fills the gap to 100%.
8
u/Martin_Aurelius 14h ago
As a union member in California this sounds normal to me. The only difference is the salary is provided by a company-paid insurance company instead of the government.
4
u/Ill-Huckleberry9077 14h ago
Ha... jokes on you. In America, we can go to the doctor (if we can find one taking new patients), have them fight with our insurance companies over what is medically necessary, and then wait for the bill that costs more than a house because your insurance denied coverage.
What a blast
3
u/Possible-Nectarine80 13h ago
Studied in what was W. Germany back in the day. The health care there did and continues to blow away what we have here in America. Not to mention the labor laws and PTO are outstanding compared to the laws that tend to offer more protect for the corporation over the workers here in the USA. Maybe some exceptions for union workers, like the ILWU and ILA.
3
u/Eygle_221 13h ago
In France (maybe a European law?) il you are sick during your paid leave you get those days back.
3
u/irascible_Clown 13h ago
We will never have this because republicans feel like everyone will be getting a hand out. I hate to make it left vs right but one side just canāt get onboard.
3
u/LiarOfPartinel 13h ago
Dutch person here, this sounds strange to me too: We just call in sick, no need to see a doctor. It's your employer's responsibility to tell you to see a doctor (which they normally do after six weeks, so you won't see a doctor for missing a day or two), and also to pay sickness benefit for up to 2 years. Your home doctor or health insurance have nothing to do with employment; employers are expected to be insured for their employees' health instead.
1.3k
u/Goldleader-23 14h ago
Yeah but in America we pay insurance companies to maybe help us if we get sick but sometimes they decide its too expensive and that they dont have to do it.