Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has introduced a bill advocating for a four-day workweek in the U.S., aiming to maintain current pay levels despite reduced working hours. The proposed legislation, named the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act, would adjust the overtime threshold from 40 to 32 hours over a four-year period, enforcing higher overtime compensation for hours exceeding this limit.
The initiative seeks to redistribute the benefits of increased productivity, attributed to technological advancements, more equitably among workers rather than concentrating gains among executives and shareholders. Sanders emphasizes the disparity between the significant productivity rise since the 1940s and the stagnation or decrease in workers’ wages over time.
The bill is co-introduced with Senator Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) and a companion version is presented in the House by Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.). Both stress the necessity of addressing the imbalance between rising CEO salaries and the diminishing real wages of employees, proposing the shorter workweek as a means to enhance workers’ quality of life while safeguarding their income and benefits.
The proposal aligns with Sanders’ role as chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and coincides with a committee hearing on workweek reductions, highlighting evidence and international examples supporting the feasibility and benefits of a 32-hour workweek. This legislative effort seeks to challenge the current norm established by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, advocating for a significant shift in the American work culture towards greater work-life balance and well-being.
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