US: Four-Day Workweeks Bill Reintroduced

The bill to make the 32-hour workweeks standard has been reintroduced in the United States. United Kingdom’s pilot program reported successful results.

California Rep. Mark Takano has reintroduced the bill to make four-day workweeks a norm from the traditional 40-hour workweek.

The World’s biggest trial of the four-day workweek has been launched in Britain last June and around 3,300 workers from 70 companies worked fewer hours for 100 percent of their pay and maintained the same level of productivity. More than 90% of UK companies are not willing to go back to the old model.

‘We have before us the opportunity to make common sense changes to work standards passed down from a different era. The Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act would improve the quality of life of workers, meeting the demand for a more truncated workweek that allows room to live, play, and enjoy life more fully outside of work’, Mark Takano said.

Washington state Rep. Pramila Jayapal, an original co-sponsor on the bill, ‘For too long, our country has prioritized corporate profits over working people and Americans have been forced to work longer hours, sacrificing time with loved ones. While policies enacted by President Biden and Democrats have finally started to raise wages for workers across multiple industries, it’s vital that health, well-being, and basic human dignity are valued over employers’ bottom lines. Establishing a 32-hour work week would go a long way toward finally righting that balance.’

Takano first introduced the bill to Congress in 2021. It gained attention on the internet after it was endorsed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, but it failed to advance any further.