Employment conditions in USA?

Right now the US is suffering from 10% unemployment, in some states it is higher. Many, many of our IT and engineering jobs are being out sourced to India.

In the US our businesses are not legally required to do the same thing regarding benefits and conditions so it is tough to give you typical values. Our employees, unless they work under a union contract or a written employment contract (such as an independent contractor) are considered 'at will'. At will employees have few protections, we can be terminated for any or no reason, with or without notice, fair or unfair.

At will employees are protected by discrimination laws, but that does not prevent a termination those laws only allow the employee to sue the former employer. For more on our discrimination laws see http://www.eeoc.gov/

Paid time off: some employers will not give any time off until the employee has worked 1 full year. While 1 or 2 weeks vacation is average, many employees cannot take vacation because of a heavy workload or for fear the employer will replace them while they are gone.

Sick leave: In the US taking too many sick days can result in termination and NO unemployment benefits. This is a real difficult situation for employees. Some employers start to complain when an employee takes more than 1 day off sick. It does not matter if there are doctor's notes either.

Working hours: For most jobs you will be paid for a 40 hour work week, unless you are an hourly employee. Engineers are usually considered exempt not hourly. That means you get paid for 40 hours, but are required to work more depending on your assignments. It is not unusual for IT employees to be on call 24/7 but only get paid the 40 hour work week. Yes it is legal.

Lunch break: depends on the company.

Statutory days off: Unlike the UK, the US has legal holidays but that does not necessarily mean the employee gets off that day. A good example is the US transportation (planes, railroad) they operate all days and need employees to do the work. Employees can get extra pay for holiday work. It looks like we average 6 to 8 real holidays.

Unpaid time off: Right now some employers are requiring that their employees take a certain number of days off without pay -- for the budget. The mayor of Chicago wants all city workers to take 24+ days off without pay during the next year. That of course drops a person's salary. Other than that, an employee is expected to show up at work every day.

Eating/dringkin at desk: Almost everyone can drink coffee/tea at their desk. Some employers do not allow eating at your desk.

As I understand it the UK has more protection for employees than the US does. The US being, bigger than the UK, may have more opportunities, but in this horrid recession that is tough to say. Good luck.

Typical PTO per year - 2 weeks or more, not counting holidays. Sometimes PTO is vacation, sick leave and personal days, sometimes those are separate categories, then vac would usually be 2 weeks or more, sick days 3-5, and maybe or not a couple additional personal days. No statutory holidays, they're by company policy, but 6-12 per year is typical.

Lunch - typical 1-2 to a full hour a day, unpaid. Usually no objection to eating or drinking (non-alcohol) at desk.

Unpaid time off - for a good reason, after you've been there awhile, might be granted.

Working hours typically 40 per week scheduled, not unusual to end up working more.

A senior software engineer would typically not have a contract.

To move to the US to work, your employer would have to apply for an employment visa for you. With over 30 million unemployed Americans, that's hard to do. Jobs are near non-existent, and employers don't want to go to the trouble, time, hassle and cost of getting you a visa. We have 1000s of unemployed computer programmers, software engineers, and other sorts of trained and experienced IT professionals. That's not counting all the new grads looking for work in such fields.

Work conditions vary widely depending on the company, state, job you do, etc. The 40-hour week, which used to be standard, hardly exists anymore. Most jobs are part-time to avoid paying any benefits. If there are any benefits, they will not kick in until you complete probation, typically 90 days.

There are about 9 - 10 holidays per year, but that can vary, too: New Year's, President's Day (Feb), Memorial Day (May), 4th of July (Independence Day), Labor Day (Sept), Columbus Day (that's disappearing), Veterans Day (Nov 11), Thanksgiving (and maybe the day after), & Christmas are the most common.

Vacation: varies widely. There are people who have worked the same job for 5 yrs who still only get a week a year. More common is to get more vacation the longer you are with the employer. Unpaid time off, except furlough for lack of work, is becoming more difficult to obtain. At many companies, it is most unwise even to ask for time off, especially during your first year.

Hours vary: 9 - 5 is common, but with lots of variations. 8 - 4; 8:30-5, etc. Lunch is unpaid: might be 1/2 hr or hour. As for eating/drinking at your desk, each company sets its own policies. If you are in the public eye at all (receptionist, etc), it is an absolute no-no.

Employment in the USA is like a defecated colon.