California lawmakers propose 4-day workweek for large companies

California legislators have introduced a bill, known as AB 2932, that would reduce the workweek from 40 hours to 32 hours—from five days to four days—for large companies in the state with over 500 employees.

Employees would be able to work beyond the stipulated 32 hours, but would have to be paid time-and-a-half for the extra hours. Workers would also be paid at the same rate as the original 40 hours, boosting their hourly pay.

"The reality is that we have a worker shortage, like more than 60 percent of businesses are reporting… their bottom line is already being affected, they’re already struggling," commented Assembly member Cristina Garci, one of the bill's co-sponsors. Garcia stressed that the proposed legislation does not apply to small businesses. "And yes, there might be an increase in salaries you have to pay and that’s not a bad thing," Garcia explained, according to CBS News.

According to the Daily Wire, there are 38 companies in the US and Canada trying out a four-day workweek from this April to October, as part of a program with "4 Day Week Global," a nonprofit associated with the University of Oxford.

It appears, however, that the potential move is very unpopular with the state's companies who would be affected by it. According to the Sequoia Consulting Group, a poll of 459 mostly tech companies indicated that 90 percent of them were not planning any such actions shifting to a four-day work week in the near future.

There also appears to be widespread concern over employers not being able or willing to pay the extra expenses. This, coupled with the state's high cost of living, could make it harder for a large part of the state's population to make ends meet.

In turn, this could cause for even higher numbers of Californians to flee the state.

The state has also contemplated giving reparations to the descenants of slaves, and one California city is aiming to give universal basic income to trans residents.