Rachel Looker, USA TODAY
Wed, March 13, 2024
WASHINGTON − There's a revived effort on Capitol Hill to make a shorter workweek the new norm.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., announced Wednesday he will introduce a bill to establish a standard 32-hour workweek that would result in no loss in pay.
Sanders, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, will introduce the legislation Thursday during a hearing on the need for a shorter workweek.
“Moving to a 32-hour workweek with no loss of pay is not a radical idea,” Sanders said in a statement. “Today, American workers are over 400 percent more productive than they were in the 1940s. And yet, millions of Americans are working longer hours for lower wages than they were decades ago. That has got to change."
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 22: Bernie Sanders attends during "Bernie Sanders: It's OK To Be Angry About Capitalism" at Royal Geographical Society on February 22, 2024 in London, England.
Sanders' bill pushes for four-day workweek
The legislation amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to reduce the standard workweek from 40 hours per week to 32 hours per week. It would also allow employees to be compensated time and half for working beyond 32 hours.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act into law in 1938 which established minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and youth employment standards. The bill led to the standard 40-hour workweek most Americans are familiar with today.
More than half of adults employed full time reported working more than 40 hours per week, according to a 2019 Gallup poll.
"It is time to reduce the stress level in our country and allow Americans to enjoy a better quality of life," Sanders said.
Rep. Takano introduced 4-day workweek bill last year
House Committee on Veterans' Affairs ranking member Mark Takano, of Calif., questions Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, during a hearing on whether the Veterans Affairs ignore and perpetrate sexual harassment, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in Washington.
This isn't the first time Congress has pushed for a four-day work week.
Progressive Democrats last year renewed a push to make four-day workweeks federal law, with lead sponsor Rep. Mark Takano of California saying the change will give Americans more time "to live, play, and enjoy life more fully outside of work."
Takano, a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, introduced a similar bill last year to Sanders' legislation that would reduce the standard workweek from 40 hours to 32, effectively ending the traditional five-day cycle. It would also require overtime pay at a rate of time and half for any employee who works more than 32 hours in one week.
His bill was referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
The legislation followed a shift in workplace trends after the COVID-19 pandemic influenced conversations about what the future of work may look like. More than 70 British companies started to test a four-day workweek last year, and most respondents reported there has been no loss in productivity.
Takano introduced similar legislation in 2021, but it was not voted on in the House or Senate.
Could it become law?
Bernie Sanders talks to United Auto Workers and community members during a rally outside the UAW-Ford Joint Trusts Center in Detroit on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023.
Sanders' bill is backed by Sen. Laphonza Butler, D-Calif., and Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., who introduced companion legislation in the House.
It also has received the endorsement of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, United Auto Workers, the Service Employees International Union, the Association of Flight Attendants and several other labor unions.
While Sanders' role as chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee places a greater focus on shortening the workweek, it is unlikely the bill will garner enough support from Republicans to become federal law and pass in both chambers.
Who Supports Bill for Four-Day Working Week?
Published Mar 14, 2024
By Aliss Higham
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders announced that he is introducing a bill to Congress that advocates for a 32-hour, or four-day, working week.
The Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act would see workers work fewer hours for no loss of pay. According to a summary of the bill, the proposed legislation would reduce the standard workweek from 40 to 32 hours over four years. Employees would also be compensated time and a half for working beyond the stipulated 32 hours.
The Fair Labor Standards Act, introduced in 1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, established minimum wage, overtime pay, and employment standards for youths. This bill, although unlikely to become legislation given that many Republicans will likely oppose it, would amend the act.
As of 2019, nearly 40 percent of U.S. employees work 50 hours a week, and 18 percent, or 28.5 million workers, work at least 60 hours per week, according to a press release issued by Sanders on March 13.
"The average full-time worker in the U.S. now works 42 hours a week – although this estimate does not necessarily account for those working multiple jobs," the release said. "On top of this, more than 8 million Americans work multiple jobs, with 4.7 million working a second part-time job on top of a full-time job."
Published Mar 14, 2024
By Aliss Higham
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders announced that he is introducing a bill to Congress that advocates for a 32-hour, or four-day, working week.
The Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act would see workers work fewer hours for no loss of pay. According to a summary of the bill, the proposed legislation would reduce the standard workweek from 40 to 32 hours over four years. Employees would also be compensated time and a half for working beyond the stipulated 32 hours.
The Fair Labor Standards Act, introduced in 1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, established minimum wage, overtime pay, and employment standards for youths. This bill, although unlikely to become legislation given that many Republicans will likely oppose it, would amend the act.
As of 2019, nearly 40 percent of U.S. employees work 50 hours a week, and 18 percent, or 28.5 million workers, work at least 60 hours per week, according to a press release issued by Sanders on March 13.
"The average full-time worker in the U.S. now works 42 hours a week – although this estimate does not necessarily account for those working multiple jobs," the release said. "On top of this, more than 8 million Americans work multiple jobs, with 4.7 million working a second part-time job on top of a full-time job."
Sen. Bernie Sanders at a hearing on November 14, 2023, in Washington, D.C. Sanders has introduced a bill calling for a four-day work week.GETTY
"Moving to a 32-hour workweek with no loss of pay is not a radical idea," Sanders said in a statement. "Today, American workers are over 400 percent more productive than they were in the 1940s. And yet, millions of Americans are working longer hours for lower wages than they were decades ago. That has got to change."
Newsweek reached out to Sanders for comment via email outside of normal working hours. This article will be updated with any response.
This isn't the first time Democrat lawmakers have pushed for a reduction in working hours. California Representative Mark Takano, who is backing the bill, introduced similar legislation in 2021, although it was not put forward to the House or Senate.
Who is backing the bill?
California lawmakers Laphonza Butler and Mark Takano have both backed the bill.
"While CEOs' wages continue to increase, our workers are finding themselves doing more, yet earning less than they have in decades," said Senator Butler, who introduced the legislation in the Senate. "The Thirty-Two-Hour Workweek Act would allow hardworking Americans to spend more time with their families while protecting their wages and making sure profits aren't only going to a select few."
Takano echoed Butler's sentiment, saying, "As the lead sponsor of the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act in the House of Representatives and a Senior Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, I am thrilled Senator Sanders is leading the Senate companion to this transformative legislation that will be a win for both workers and workplaces."
The proposed legislation has also been backed by a range of workers' rights groups and unions, including The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, United Auto Workers, and Service Employees International Union.
"Moving to a 32-hour workweek with no loss of pay is not a radical idea," Sanders said in a statement. "Today, American workers are over 400 percent more productive than they were in the 1940s. And yet, millions of Americans are working longer hours for lower wages than they were decades ago. That has got to change."
Newsweek reached out to Sanders for comment via email outside of normal working hours. This article will be updated with any response.
This isn't the first time Democrat lawmakers have pushed for a reduction in working hours. California Representative Mark Takano, who is backing the bill, introduced similar legislation in 2021, although it was not put forward to the House or Senate.
Who is backing the bill?
California lawmakers Laphonza Butler and Mark Takano have both backed the bill.
"While CEOs' wages continue to increase, our workers are finding themselves doing more, yet earning less than they have in decades," said Senator Butler, who introduced the legislation in the Senate. "The Thirty-Two-Hour Workweek Act would allow hardworking Americans to spend more time with their families while protecting their wages and making sure profits aren't only going to a select few."
Takano echoed Butler's sentiment, saying, "As the lead sponsor of the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act in the House of Representatives and a Senior Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, I am thrilled Senator Sanders is leading the Senate companion to this transformative legislation that will be a win for both workers and workplaces."
The proposed legislation has also been backed by a range of workers' rights groups and unions, including The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, United Auto Workers, and Service Employees International Union.
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