"I am introducing this legislation to reduce the standard workweek to 32 hours because - now more than ever - people continue to work longer hours while their pay remains stagnant," Takano said in a press release. "We cannot continue to accept this as our reality. Many countries and businesses that have experimented with a four-day workweek found it to be an overwhelming success as productivity grew and wages increased."
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Takano tells Eyewitness News he doesn't think the five-day workweek will go away, but on the fifth day, the congressman says employees will get paid overtime and that will amount to a 10% pay increase for most workers.
Takano said the 40-hour work week was established by the Fair Labor Act in 1935 and needs to be updated. He added that shorter workweeks will help reduce health care premiums for employers and lower operational costs.
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Original co-sponsors of the legislation include Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Rep. Chuy Garcia.