Europa Regionum

The United States is perceived as a country with a low level of social security, although legislation in this area seems to be comprehensive. The nature of the American worker protection regulations is assessed as a much more liberal than it is for European countries. The aim of the study is to analyze the basic regulations of the US labor market in the area of social protection and compare them with equivalent regulations in selected European Union countries. Research hypothesis is the claim that social security regulations in the United States are more liberal than in compared countries of the European Union. The study briefly describes the US labor market and compares it to selected markets in other countries. Then, presents the basic American institutions of social security – unemployment insurance and pension system. It also discusses regulations on working hours, minimum wage, granted leave etc. The last part of the paper presents the American model of social security by specifying it as a liberal in comparison with other European Union countries