California Congressman Mark Takano Introduced Legislation For A Four-Day Workweek

Democratic Congressman Mark Takano introduced legislation on Wednesday that would reduce the standard workweek from 40 hours to 32 hours.

According to Takano's press release about his piece of legislation “A shorter workweek would benefit both employers and employees alike.” He pointed to “Pilot programs run by governments and businesses across the globe have shown promising results as productivity climbed and workers reported better work-life balance, less need to take sick days, heightened morale, and lower childcare expenses because they had more time with their family and children.”

He added that “Shorter workweeks have also been shown to further reduce healthcare premiums for employers, lower operational costs for businesses, and have a positive environmental impact in some of these studies.”

Rep. Takano asserts that the workers would benefit from this change as his proposal will allow non-exempt employees to receive overtime compensation for any hours worked over 32-hours.

Takano said “At a time when the nature of work is rapidly changing, it’s incumbent upon us to explore all possible means of ensuring our modern business model prioritizes productivity, fair pay, and an improved quality of life for workers.”

He said “I am introducing this legislation to reduce the standard workweek to 32 hours because – now more than ever – people continue to work longer hours while their pay remains stagnant. We cannot continue to accept this as our reality. Many countries and businesses that have experimented with a four-day workweek found it to be an overwhelming success as productivity grew and wages increased.”