Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) introduced a bill to Congress Sept. 11 that would turn the U.S. toward a 32-hour work week based on A.I. productivity advancements in the workplace.

The 32-Hour work week Act would take effect over four years to lower the average work week from 40 hours to 32. The first year it takes effect, the work week would lower to 38 hours, the second year 36 hours, the third 34 hours and the fourth 32 hours.

The bill focuses not on laws surrounding labor and how long an employee can work per week, but instead on federal overtime laws. Currently, overtime laws require workers to be paid one-and-a-half times their normal rate for any hours worked past 40 hours per week, according to the Department of Labor. While the new law, if passed, wouldn’t ban a 40-hour work week, it would make it much more expensive for employers and companies.

The idea behind shortening the standard work week is that, living in a society growing increasingly accepting of A.I. technologies, over the next couple years humans won’t be needed for jobs that can be done by A.I.

“At a time when artificial intelligence and robotics will radically transform our economy, it is imperative that the financial gains from this new technology benefit working families, not just a handful of billionaires and corporate CEOs,” Sander said in a Sept. 8 news release. “One important way to do that is through a 32-hour work week with no loss in pay or benefits.”

The bill also protects workers from having their weekly compensation or benefits cut or removed because the standard working hours have changed.

The idea of a 32-hour work week is not new. Rep. Takano previously introduced similar bills in 2021 and 2023. Sen. Sanders introduced a bill that focused on lowering the standard work week in 2024 following a hearing with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

The Fair Labor Standards Act, which is what the current bill is looking to alter, was originally created in 1938.

“A 32-hour work week is not a radical idea,” Sanders 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.” 

The 32 hour work week has been experimented with in a couple of countries, primarily in Europe. One of the largest experiments was in 2022 in the U.K. when 61 companies totaling 2,900 employees reduced hours without cutting their employee’s pay for six months.

At the end of the six months, companies reported 71% of staff experienced lower burnout, a 65% drop in sick days and a 57% drop in resignations. Company revenue remained relatively stable. At the end of the six months, 56 of the 61 companies said they planned to continue with the reduced work week.

Of course, the reduced work week is not without its critics.

“One risk is that we turn five days of work into four days of stress,” Jay Aldebart, creator of the Profit by Design Methodology and chief growth officer at International Services, told Newsweek magazine. “If making the model work requires higher prices, fewer employees, reduced hours or asking the same workers to carry a heavier workload, then the cost did not disappear. It just moved somewhere else.” 

With both the Senate and House of Representatives currently controlled by the Republican Party, it’s unlikely the current Democrat-led bill will make it far. However, depending on the outcome of the upcoming November election, the bill may be reintroduced at a later time to different results.