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NEW BILL PROPOSES 32-HOUR WORK WEEK—HERE’S HOW IT WOULD WORK  
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Aliss Higham
September 11, 2026
Newsweek
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_ Supporters argue that AI and automation mean businesses can produce
more with less human labor and that employees should receive some of
those gains as additional time away from work. _

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A new bill in Congress [[link removed]] would
move the United States toward a 32-hour standard workweek, with
supporters arguing that workers should benefit from productivity gains
linked to artificial intelligence and automation.

The Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act, introduced this week by independent
Senator Bernie Sanders [[link removed]]
of Vermont and Democratic Representative Mark Takano of California,
would gradually lower the point at which many employees become
entitled to overtime pay from the current 40 hours a week to 32
[[link removed]].
It would also seek to prevent employers from cutting workers' pay or
benefits because their standard hours get reduced.

The measure does not mean American workers would automatically be
ordered onto a Monday-to-Thursday schedule or something similar. The
bill would change federal overtime law, effectively making it more
expensive for employers to routinely require covered workers to put in
more than 32 hours.

HOW WOULD A 32-HOUR WEEK WORK?

Under current federal law, most workers covered by overtime
protections must be paid at least one-and-a-half times their normal
rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a week, according to the Department
of Labor.

The new legislation would lower that threshold gradually rather than
making an immediate switch. The standard would fall to 38 hours in the
first year, 36 in the second and 34 in the third before reaching 32
hours.

That would not stop an employer from asking someone to work longer.
But once the new limit was fully phased in, an eligible employee
working 40 hours would generally be entitled to eight hours of
overtime rather than receiving overtime only after their 40th hour of
work.

The proposal would also introduce nationwide overtime requirements
based on the length of the working day. Covered employees would
generally receive time-and-a-half after eight hours in a day and
double their normal rate after 12 hours.

It says employers could not reduce an affected employee's weekly
compensation or benefits simply because the standard working week had
been shortened.

It would not, however, guarantee everyone three days off each week. A
business could arrange 32 hours over four days, but the proposal
itself does not prescribe which days employees must work.

It would also not apply equally to every U.S. worker. The proposal
would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act, and federal overtime law
already includes exemptions for some categories of employees,
including certain executive, administrative and professional workers
as set out by the Department of Labor
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FOUR DAY WORKING WEEK PUSH

The idea has been circulating in Congress for several years. Takano
introduced a similar 32-hour workweek bill in 2021
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version in 2023. Sanders followed with Senate legislation in 2024
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Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing
on whether the country should move toward a shorter working week.

When Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, it
initially set the overtime threshold at 44 hours. That later fell to
42 hours and then to the 40-hour week that has become the U.S. norm.
The law did not prohibit people from working longer; instead, it
required employers to pay a premium for additional hours. The
Department of Labor describes that transition as part of the
development of modern federal wage-and-hour protections.

There have also been smaller experiments at the state and local level,
with Maryland lawmakers considering legislation in 2023 that would
have created a voluntary four-day-workweek pilot and offered tax
incentives to participating employers, although the measure was
ultimately withdrawn.

In Washington state, San Juan County moved much of its workforce to a
32-hour week in 2023. After running the system as a pilot, the county
said in late 2025 it would make the model permanent. Officials
reported benefits including lower sick-leave use, more job
applications and estimated cost savings, while also acknowledging
difficulties around scheduling, public-facing services and maintaining
coverage.

In the United Kingdom in 2022, 61 organizations involving about 2,900
workers tested a 20 percent reduction in working time without a
reduction in salary. Researchers at the University of Cambridge
reported that sick days fell by 65 percent and staff departures
dropped by 57 percent compared with the same period a year earlier.
Most participating employers said afterward that they intended to
continue with a reduced-hours working week.

However, it was a voluntary experiment, not a national requirement,
and the U.K. trial has not resulted in any new working laws.

THE VIEW IN THE US

Supporters argue that advances in technology mean businesses can
produce more with less human labor and that employees should receive
some of those gains as additional time away from work. Sanders has
said AI and automation should improve workers' lives rather than
simply increase corporate profits.

“A 32-hour workweek is not a radical idea," he said in a press
release announcing the bill. "What’s radical is that, despite an
explosion in technology and productivity over the last fifty years,
millions of workers are working longer hours for lower wages while
nearly $80 trillion in wealth has been redistributed from the bottom
90 percent to the top 1 percent. That has got to change. It’s time
to reduce the stress level in our country and allow workers and their
families to enjoy a better quality of life. It’s time to pass this
bill.”

Opponents have previously warned that shortening the standard week
while maintaining workers' pay could increase labor costs. During a
2024 Senate hearing, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy argued that
employers could respond by raising prices, reducing hiring or moving
jobs elsewhere.

_Aliss Higham is a Newsweek reporter based in Glasgow, Scotland. Her
focus is reporting on Social Security, other government benefits and
personal finance. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and
European politics, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the British Royal
Family. Aliss joined Newsweek full time in January 2024 after a year
of freelance reporting and has previously worked at digital Reach
titles The Express and The Mirror. She is a graduate in English and
Creative Writing from Goldsmiths, University of London. You can get in
touch with Aliss by emailing [email protected]__. Languages:
English._
_Newsweek is the global media organization that has earned audience
time and trust for more than 90 years. Newsweek is committed to fair,
independent, and transparent journalism._

_Newsweek reaches 100 million people each month with thought-provoking
news, opinion, images, graphics, and video delivered across a dozen
print and digital platforms. Headquartered in New York City, Newsweek
also publishes international editions in EMEA and Asia._

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* 32-hour workweek
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* artificial intelligence
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* Income Inequality
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* 4-day workweek
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