It’s not true for white collar work. For the most part, salaried and even non salaried full time workers get at least 20 days of paid time off a year.

For many years, my dad was given 4 days off a year for both sick and vacation time. Any other time was unpaid. He changed jobs last year, and I haven't asked him if his new job is the same or not.

It is absolutely ridiculous.