Federally Mandated Four Day Work Week

For too long, working people have been asked to do more with less: longer hours, stagnant pay, shrinking benefits, and less time with their families. Meanwhile, productivity has soared but the people creating that value haven’t seen the return.
It’s time to rebalance the equation.
A four-day work week without a pay cut is one of the most transformative ideas in modern labor policy. And it’s not a fantasy. It’s working right now across industries, sectors, and countries. And we’re going to make it a reality here.

The five-day, 40-hour work week was a bold reform… in 1938. It hasn’t changed since. But everything else has from technology to labor markets to family life.
It’s time our workweek caught up.
Here’s what the research shows:

• - A major 2022 UK study, involving over 60 companies and nearly 3,000 workers, found that a four-day work week:
• - Improved productivity for the majority of firms
• - Reduced burnout by 71%
• - Led to a 65% reduction in sick days
• - And caused no drop in revenue (https://www.4dayweek.com/uk-results)
• - In Iceland, four-day week trials covering 2,500 workers were declared “an overwhelming success,” leading to better work-life balance without loss of output (https://autonomy.work/portfolio/iceland/)
• - U.S. pilot programs are also yielding positive results in sectors from tech to manufacturing to government. Dozens of companies now offer 32-hour workweeks and report higher retention and lower stress.

We’ll push for federal legislation that does three key things:

1. 1. Create a Path to the 32-Hour Workweek
   • - Amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to define the standard workweek as 32 hours, not 40
   • - Require overtime pay for hours beyond 32 creating a market incentive to shift schedules and reduce overwork
   • - Encourage public and private employers to adopt a four-day structure voluntarily, with support during the transition
2. 2. Fund Pilots and Transition Support
   • - Establish a Four-Day Transition Fund to help small businesses pilot new schedules
   • - Provide grants for public sector trials (cities, school districts, agencies)
   • - Offer technical assistance to track productivity, worker satisfaction, and economic outcomes
3. 3. Protect Pay and Prevent Exploitation
   • - Require that pay and benefits are maintained in four-day transitions
   • - Prohibit employers from cutting pay while increasing daily workload
   • - Enforce transparency and worker input in how new schedules are implemented

We are a district of educators, caregivers, transit workers, creatives, tech workers, and parents. We’re doing our best with the time we have but time is exactly what’s been taken from us. A four-day work week would:

• - Reduce burnout and stress, especially for working parents and essential workers
• - Improve mental health and productivity
• - Create jobs by spreading hours more equitably across the workforce
• - Lower emissions through reduced commutes and office energy use
• - Give people their time back to rest, to parent, to build, to live

Let’s be honest: not every job can compress hours easily. Nurses can’t just do 12-hour shifts forever. Some retail and service roles need coverage.

Instead, we’ll:

• - Set the 32-hour week as a standard, not a rigid requirement
• - Provide flexibility for sectors to design sustainable shifts
• - Incentivize innovation in scheduling, staffing, and training

This Is How We Build a Future That Works The economy doesn’t exist to serve spreadsheets. It exists to serve people.

A four-day work week isn’t about doing less it’s about doing better. It’s about making work smarter, fairer, and more human. And it’s about using the gains of technology and productivity to benefit the people who create them not just the CEOs. Let’s be bold. Let’s lead. Let’s win back our time.