Bernie Sanders is right about the four-day workweek – but wrong about how to get there

The senator proposed a federal overtime rule mandate, but incentives can better spur employers to reshape the workweek Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator, recently proposed new legislation that would change federal overtime rules. The new law, if passed, would require employers to pay a minimum 1.5 hours of overtime for each hour worked past 32 hours in a week. Currently, overtime kicks in at 40 hours per week. The requirement would phase in over a few years. Sounds great. Who wouldn’t want that? There’s just one problem: somebody has to pay for it. For business owners, this isn’t an ideological argument. It’s math. Continue reading...

Gene Marks · Sun, Sep 20, 2026, 7:00 AM
US news | The Guardian

Bernie Sanders is right about the four-day workweek – but wrong about how to get there

The senator proposed a federal overtime rule mandate, but incentives can better spur employers to reshape the workweek

Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator, recently proposed new legislation that would change federal overtime rules. The new law, if passed, would require employers to pay a minimum 1.5 hours of overtime for each hour worked past 32 hours in a week. Currently, overtime kicks in at 40 hours per week. The requirement would phase in over a few years.

Sounds great. Who wouldn’t want that? There’s just one problem: somebody has to pay for it. For business owners, this isn’t an ideological argument. It’s math.

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