No mandate, yes, but a lot of people in the US get decent PTO, while a lot get nothing. It’s highly dependent on the organization. I work for a quasi governmental org in Texas and everyone there starts at 27 days of PTO plus 11 paid holidays, scaling up to 35 days of PTO based on longevity. Working at a hospital in the past, also in Texas, everyone got 26 days of PTO and 9 paid holidays. At both orgs, this PTO policy applied to everyone, from techs and janitorial staff making $15/hr to nurses pulling $110K to leadership.

I wish PTO was mandated for everyone at every company, though.

Depends on how many pieces you come back from Ukraine in.

In most cases, it is - it means you get way less money for the period, because for many, their salary consists of some fixed base rate (usually small, not even making 50% of the total compensation) with various bonuses on top (which employers use for punishment and leverage, etc.); naturally, you don’t meet the KPIs or whatever equivalent when you’re on vacation, so the money you end up getting paid is actually insultingly small.

The exceptions are, of course, various execs, top management, etc., but also some industry workers (although that may heavily depend on the company, role, branch, etc.); the latter sometimes get other benefits, though, life being eligible for a full vacation pack type deal for a fraction of a price or something like that, but that, too, has been dwindling for many years now. too.

The rest depends on your company and role, like the IT people still feeling good all things considered, because their base salary is just that much higher.

Same with sick leave.