Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced a bill on Wednesday to create a standard four-day workweek in the United States without reducing pay.
Over four years, the bill would reduce the hours required for overtime pay from 40 to 32. It would also mandate overtime pay at 1.5 times the regular salary for workdays over 8 hours, and double the regular salary for workdays over 12 hours.
The Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act would also safeguard workers’ pay and benefits to ensure no pay cuts, as stated in a press release.
A press release described the legislation as “an important step toward ensuring that workers benefit from the significant increase in productivity due to artificial intelligence, automation, and new technology.”
“Changing to a 32-hour workweek without pay reduction is not a radical idea,” Sanders stated in a press release. “Today, American workers are over 400 percent more productive than in the 1940s. Yet, millions of Americans are working longer hours for lower wages than decades ago. That must change.”
“The financial gains from advancements in artificial intelligence, automation, and new technology must benefit the working class, not just corporate CEOs and wealthy stockholders on Wall Street. It is time to reduce stress in our country and allow Americans to enjoy a better quality of life,” he wrote.
Sanders presented the bill with Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), and Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) introduced similar legislation in the House.
“While CEOs’ wages continue to rise, our workers are finding themselves doing more, yet earning less than in decades past,” Butler stated. “The Thirty-Two-Hour Workweek Act would enable hardworking Americans to spend more time with their families while protecting their wages and ensuring profits are not only going to a select few.”
Takano, in a statement, called the bill “transformative legislation that will benefit both workers and workplaces.”
Sanders, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, introduced the legislation ahead of a committee hearing on the same topic. The committee will hear from United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, among other witnesses.
In the announcement, Sanders mentioned several trial programs and studies showing productivity improving with a four-day workweek. The studies largely found that because workers were happier, they were more productive and less likely to burn out. Sanders also highlighted other countries that have already moved to shorter workweeks. France has a 35-hour workweek and is considering transitioning to a 32-hour workweek, while Norway and Denmark have workweeks of about 37 hours.
The Fair Labor Standards Act was signed into law in 1938 and established a 44-hour workweek, creating the first widely applicable federal standard. Two years later, the legislation phased in the 40-hour workweek that exists today.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday introduced a bill to create a regular four-day workweek in the United States without decreasing pay. The bill, over a four-year period, would decrease the number of hours needed for overtime pay, from 40 hours to 32 hours. It would mandate overtime pay at a rate of 1.5 times…
