4-Day Workweek A Possibility In Maryland Under Proposed Bill; What Do You Think?

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Is a four-day workweek possible for Marylanders? Yes, according to a group of state lawmakers wanting to permanently erase Friday from the 9-to-5 calendar.

Take Patch's survey at the bottom of this story. Tell us what you think about a 4-day workweek.

A bill introduced in the Maryland General Assembly proposes the launch of a pilot program that would encourage and incentivize companies to implement a four-day workweek for private and public workers.

According to the Four-Day Workweek Act of 2023, a business must have at least 30 employees and no prior plans to shift to a four-day workweek to participate in the program. Those that do could receive a state tax credit of up $750,000. Employers also can't decrease pay or benefits from the standard five-day week.

"I would say one of the most common things you hear from people is that they feel like they're working more, and they're getting less, and the price of things keeps going up," Delegate Vaughn Stewart told Vice. "Regardless of where you are on the ideological spectrum or political party, people want to have more time off from their job."

Republicans disagree, according to one report.

"They need to leave them alone, and not dictate who they pay, how much they pay, and it really does need to be a market decision," Delegate April Rose told FOX 5. "Every business is different. A small gardening business is way different than say a daycare center."

Hearings on the bill are expected to be held in February.

If passed, the pilot program would begin July 1 and expire in 2028. The Maryland Department of Labor would also be required to document program results and present them to Gov. Wes Moore and the General Assembly every December.

A 2016 Pew poll discovered that American workers are spending about an extra half-hour at work per week. That's nearly a month longer per year than in 1980.

According to the Society for Human Resources Management, an international six-month pilot program involving 33 companies, mainly in the United States and Ireland, found that 97 percent of employees wanted to continue on the four-day schedule once the program was complete.