The global movement toward a 32-hour workweek is gaining traction in the United States with an endorsement by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Last Wednesday, Sanders introduced the Senate companion bill to Rep. Mark Takano’s (D-Calif.) Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Actthat would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act, reducing the standard workweek from 40 hours to 32, and lower the maximum hours threshold for overtime pay for non-exempt employees.
In a one-on-one interview with Takano, the lead sponsor of the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act in the House of Representatives and a senior member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, on Tuesday, he talked about how the push for an abbreviated workweek is gaining ground, due to the ascendancy of AI, citing “public openness” from major public figures and business leaders, like former President Barack Obama, JPMorgan CEO and MicrosoftMSFT +0.9% founder Bill Gates.