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A proposal that would shorten California's work week from five days to four has been shelved.
Assembly Bill 2932 was introduced in February 2022 and was meant to amend the existing Labor Code relating to employment.
The current Labor Code requires that work in excess of 40 hours in a work week must be compensated at a rate of at least 1 and a 1/2 times the employee’s regular rate of pay, subject to certain exceptions.
Instead, Assembly Bill 2932 proposed that the work week be shortened to 32 hours with anything beyond that being compensated at the rate of at least 1 and a 1/2 time the employee's regular rate of pay.
Despite the popularity of the bill, it failed to advance state Legislature's session after a policy hearing was not set and did not make the April 29 deadline to be passed along.
In Iceland, a shorter work week proved to be an "overwhelming success" with productivity increasing and the risk of burnout decreasing.
“Our roadmap to a shorter working week in the public sector should be of interest to anyone who wishes to see working hours reduced," said researcher Gudmundur D. Haraldsson.