'New Era:' NYC Launches 4-Day Workweek Pilot Program

NEW YORK CITY, NY — Work is about to get much more flexible for some New York City employees thanks to a pilot program launched by Mayor Eric Adams and DC 37, the city's largest public employee union.

Under the new program, New York City agencies can offer a four-day workweek — or a schedule of working four days one week and five days the next week — to union-represented employees who cannot work remotely, officials said Wednesday.

Daily hours worked will increase so employees still work the same number of total hours over a two-week period, according to officials.

Over 20,000 DC 37 employees are already working remotely as part of the remote work pilot program negotiated last year, officials said, adding that the Adams administration is continuing to trend toward flexibility "to support and retain top-level talent providing services to New Yorkers."

"As we’re entering into a new era of work, I have always been clear that we must put equity at the heart of the discussion," Adams said. "Now, city workers whose job responsibilities don’t allow them to work remotely will have the flexibility they deserve, all while ensuring that the best municipal workforce in the world can continue to deliver every day for New Yorkers."

The Adams administration added that it "has made significant progress" in reaching contract agreements with its unionized workforce, many of which included work flexibility pilots.

"In two years, and less than a year after its first agreement with DC 37, the Adams administration has successfully negotiated contracts with unions representing approximately 93 percent of the city’s workforce and 100 percent of the city’s uniformed workforce — the quickest any mayoral administration has reached that milestone in modern city history," according to officials.