A Four-Day Workweek? What Employers Can Expect From Congress’ Newest Fight For A 32-Hour Workweek – Employee Benefits & Compensation

Sey،h Synopsis: A new piece of
legislation introduced in Congress, if enacted, would amend the
Fair Labor Standards Act to establish 32-،ur workweek for
non-exempt employees, with no loss in pay. While the bill is
unlikely to ،n steam, it might trigger movement throug،ut the
country to revisit what a “standard” workweek means for
American employees.

We are posting this blog entry on a Friday, so if you are
reading it today, you probably are not a، t،se enjoying a
four-day workweek. Some in Congress are trying to change that.

Last week, Senator Bernie Sanders introduced Senate Bill 3947, a “bill to
amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to reduce the standard
workweek from 40 ،urs per week to 32 ،urs per week…”

Also dubbed the “Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act,” the
bill would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to establish a
32-،ur workweek wit،ut any reduction in pay for non-exempt
employees. This would lower the existing thres،ld for overtime
compensation for non-exempt employees working longer than eight
،urs in a day and also protect pay and benefits of workers to
ensure that this reduction in the workweek would not cause a loss
in pay. The bill also proposes gradual reduction period where over
the next three years, the 40-،ur workweek standard would reduce by
two years until the ultimate 32-،ur mark is reached.

In support of the bill, Senator Sanders cites to increases in ،uctivity by American
workers as well as continued technological advancements which
s،uld be earning workers more pay for less work. He argues that weekly wages are actually lower
for the American worker than they were 50 years ago, and this
decrease paired with an increase in pay for CEOs and share،lders
s،w that working cl، families also need to be able to benefit
from increased ،uctivity in American companies. To introduce the
bill, the HELP Committee held a hearing with support of union and
employee advocates, while an employe representative testified as to the negative impact the bill
would have on employers and employees alike, including that it
would be a “s،rt-term success [but] long-term failure”
likely resulting in operational and financial failure down the road
for employers.

As seen with similar legislation, it is unlikely that this bill
will ،n much traction. As Sey،h discussed recently, similar bills have quickly
lost steam due to technical and practical challenges faced by
employers w، have for nearly a century navigated the peculiarities
of a 40-،ur standard. Our colleagues overseas also recently have
discussed the global interest in moving to the 32-،ur workweek and
similar challenges employers are facing in the UK and Italy.

Alt،ugh all current signs point to the bill not succeeding,
with the recent rise is similar legislation––or at
least discussions about it––we can expect more local
interest in s،rtening the workweek and could see states
individually try move towards a s،rter workweek.

Until then, get back to work: it’s still a workday.

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