[protastus]

Yes, the root cause is that the U.S. barely has any labor laws, and this puts people in cruel situations that are inconsistent with the level of economic development achieved by this nation.

Many knowledge workers expect stronger guarantees for earned benefits, out of an intuitive sense of ethics and commitment, but those expectations are more in line with labor laws found in European countries. In the U.S., workers often have no recourse or leverage against even small companies, let alone Google. "Earned" benefits evaporate once the employment contract is void.

[sokoloff]

My PTO is an earned benefit (legally). I’m sure Google is paying those out. Free meals or free office printing are not earned benefits (legally). I’m sure Google is not paying for 30 weeks of meals or printing for laid off workers.

If you agree with the above, the challenge becomes figuring out whether a benefit is more like the legally earned or more like those provided as a courtesy and convenience.

[hn_throwaway_99]

But it should seem pretty obvious that something like maternity leave couldn't, and shouldn't, be an "earned benefit" - should everyone except to accrue a month of "maternity leave benefit" through the ages of 20 and 40 or something?

It's good that we do have benefits that only apply to subclasses of people (i.e. parents), but how those benefits are structured shouldn't be at the whims of a company if we feel, as a society, that they're important for people generally.

[sokoloff]

I think it would be reasonable for an employer to make some benefits, including certain paid leaves, subject to some minimum tenure. How an employer chooses among those options tells you something about them, but I don’t think a blanket “you cannot offer any benefits subject to tenure” makes a better world.

I do agree with you that if society thinks a benefit is important, society can pay for it directly. Or pass a law to mandate employers (or certain employers) to provide it.

[smabie]

Why is it good that we have benefits that only apply to a subclass of people?

[protastus]

> My PTO is an earned benefit (legally)

Your case does not generalize. In the U.S., there is no federal law requiring the payout of unused PTO.

[zamnos]

Absolutely correct, though Google is headquartered in California which does have such a law.