Four-day work week bill aims to give workers and businesses more flexibility

On March 30, 2020, amid a national emergency and rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in Maryland, then-Gov. Larry Hogan issued an executive order mandating most workers stay home to mitigate the virus’s spread. As other states were issuing similar shutdown orders, and businesses and workers were forced to adapt to a new normal, suddenly the nation was forced to collectively re-examine the nature of work. Now, with the pandemic economic emergency mostly in the rear-view mirror following an economic recovery that has seen unemployment sink to the lowest levels in 50 years and labor force participation rates boosted to near pre-pandemic levels, businesses face a new set of challenges: attracting and retaining workers in a red-hot labor market. A new bill introduced in the Maryland House of Delegates aims to give private businesses a new tool to attract and retain workers: a new vision for the work week.