Decree II: Regarding Work on Your Birthday

Decree II: All employers will be mandated by law to provide a paid holiday to be taken on the day of an employee's birthday.

Americans work too hard. Or at least they show up to the office too much. I remember my first job out of college had a month vacation -- plus five sick days. I had never heard of such a thing. Two weeks, normal. Three weeks, extravagant. But a month, unthinkable. At least for those in the 50 states (Puerto Rico? I don't know the norms there).

I later found out that our generous vacation policy was not generous at all. The company I worked for -- Barclays Global Investors -- was a subsidiary of Barclays Bank, an English-based company. And while four weeks sounds good there, it doesn't ring quite as true across the pond, where 6 weeks, and even 8 weeks, won't raise an eyebrow.

All of this amounts to me saying, companies can afford to give their employees one more day off a year. Let's be frank. Past the age of 21, and especially past the age of 30, birthdays really aren't that great. We celebrate not because of the thrill of getting older but to remind us we can still have fun, despite knees getting a little creakier, backs locking up more often, and everything slouching just a fraction closer to the floor. Have a heart, corporate America..