Bernie Sanders on Wednesday introduced a bill that would eventually move the United States to a four-day work week without reducing pay or benefits. The Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act would, over a period of four years, move the threshold at which overtime must be paid from 40 hours to 32 hours, the Hill reports. For workdays longer than eight hours, a rate of 1.5 times a worker's normal pay would be required; for workdays longer than 12 hours, that rate would go to double a worker's normal pay. The move would apply to non-exempt workers, who are typically hourly employees, NBC News reports.
- What Sanders is saying: This "s not a radical idea," he says in a press release. "Today, American workers are over 400% 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."
- What critics are saying: Republicans are "panning" the idea, per the Hill, and arguing it would impact small businesses more than large corporations. Sample quote from Sen. Bill Cassidy: "If this policy is implemented, it would threaten millions of small businesses operating on a razor-thin margin because they're unable to find enough workers. Now they've got the same workers, but only for three-quarters of the time, and they have to hire more." (Cassidy also accused Sanders of failing to implement a 32-hour work week with his own staff.)
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