Overview
4 Day Work Week in the U.S.
The four-day work week is gaining real momentum in the United States. Dozens of US and Canadian companies took part in 4 Day Week Global's North American pilots, moving to a 32-hour week with no cut in pay — and the overwhelming majority chose to keep it, reporting steady or higher revenue, lower staff turnover, and marked improvements in employee wellbeing.
Momentum has reached Washington. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, overtime is due after 40 hours in a workweek. In September 2026, Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Mark Takano reintroduced the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act (S. 5384 and H.R. 10323), which would lower that threshold to 32 hours for non-exempt employees, phased in over three years; its sponsors describe it as a 32-hour week with no loss in pay or benefits. The bill has not passed, and there is no federal four-day-week law.
States are experimenting too. In New York, bills in committee would set 32 hours as a legal week's work for most employees (S5629) and create a four-day-week pilot for state employees (S9443 and A5423). None has passed.
