Sanders: "If AI is coming for workers, it should bring a 4-day workweek with it"

Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Mark Takano reintroduced the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act to shrink the federal standard workweek for covered nonexempt employees from 40 to 32 hours. The proposal phases in over four years, with employers owing overtime for hours beyond the new threshold, bans cuts to affected workers’ weekly pay or benefits, and adds daily overtime after eight hours and double pay after 12. Sanders frames the push as a response to AI-driven productivity gains, arguing that those gains should translate into shorter workweeks for employees rather than bigger profits for executives; Takano says labor law has not kept pace with technological change. The bill traces back to Takano’s 2021 introduction and a Senate version Sanders offered in 2024.

Supporters point to research suggesting substantial potential and worker benefits: a 2026 analysis by Juliet Schor estimates AI-driven productivity could let roughly 35 million U.S. workers move to 32-hour weeks within a decade, and a six-country trial of about 2,900 workers found reduced burnout and improved health, satisfaction and performance after cutting weekly hours. Opponents warn of higher labor costs, price increases and pressure on thin-margin businesses - concerns voiced by Sen. Bill Cassidy, now chair of the HELP Committee, which would weigh the legislation - highlighting the political and economic hurdles of shifting from voluntary trials to a federal mandate.