4-Day Work Week Bills Fail In Maryland Legislature Over Cost Worries

ANNAPOLIS, MD — A pilot program to encourage and incentivize public and private companies to implement a four-day work week in Maryland is dead for the current legislative session.

Sponsors of the House and Senate bills withdrew bills following concerns about the cost of a pilot program and that it would standardize a 32-hour work week, Maryland Matters reported.

According to the Four-Day Workweek Act of 2023, a business with at least 30 employees and no prior plans to shift to a four-day work week could have participated in the program. Those companies would have received a state tax credit of up $750,000 under the now-tabled plan.

To qualify, companies would have had to cut weekly work hours to 32 without decreasing employees’ pay and benefits, Bloomberg Law reported.

Del. Vaughn Stewart (D-Montgomery), the lead sponsor of the House version of the bill, told Maryland Matters a shift to a shorter work week “is the future” for Maryland businesses. “I think, if we can get this budget language, that there has been a huge step taken this session,” he said.

An overwhelming majority of Marylanders would support a four-day workweek after lawmakers introduced a proposal to permanently erase a day from the 9-to-5 calendar, according to an unscientific survey Patch shared last month.

More than 67 percent of readers who responded to the survey said they supported launching a pilot program to encourage and incentivize public and private companies to implement a four-day workweek.

• Related: 4-Day Workweek Would Improve Mental Health, Happiness, Marylanders Say

An estimated cost of $1 million annually to establish a five-year business tax credit program was seen as a stumbling block to the bill, the website said. The Senate bill sponsored by Sen. Shelly Hettleman (D-Baltimore County) was also withdrawn.

Now, Stewart hopes a study can be done by the state Department of Labor in order to revive the proposal before the end of the current legislative term.

Supporters of a four-day work week, including the Women’s Law Center of Maryland, testified to legislative committees last month about the benefits possible from a change, such as increased employee productivity and retention and decreased burnout and use of sick days, Bloomberg reported.

Voices opposed to the pilot program included the National Federation of Independent Business, whose Maryland director said the move could worsen the labor shortage as companies shift to employing more workers for fewer hours per week.

Meanwhile, 24 percent of readers said they opposed the measure, while 9 percent were unsure. A total of 252 people responded to the survey.

"I wholeheartedly support this measure in the interest of improving the health and well-being of workers and each individual's work-life balance (and therefore our communities as a whole)," one reader wrote. "The 'standard' five-day, 40-plus-hour workweek is archaic and, in most cases, completely unnecessary."

"This is going to kill small businesses struggling to find people to cover all shifts," one reader said in opposition.

Readers who supported the measure felt worker fatigue, mental health, work-life balance and happiness would improve under the program. Responses have been slightly edited for grammatical accuracy.

"Family time and 'me' time have become extremely important to me in these increasingly stressful days," one reader wrote. "And I spend more time at work than with family and friends."

"That would benefit every aspect of our lives, resulting in better health and improved family relationships," another wrote.

Many readers criticized lawmakers for meddling in what should be a business decision.

"This should be an individual business decision and not be incentivized by the state government," one reader wrote. "State government does not need to throw money into the ring which will add to any state deficit in upcoming years."