Establishes the New York smart work week pilot program to promote, incentivize and support the use of a four-day work week by qualifying employers and to study the benefits and impacts of such work arrangements; defines terms; establishes a tax credit for participating qualifying employers and employees.
Summary
This bill establishes the New York smart work week pilot program, also referred to as the FREE TIME Act, to encourage and study four-day work weeks for qualifying employers in New York. The Department of Labor would accept applications from employers, select a diverse group of participants, and require participating employers to implement a reduced-workweek schedule for at least 30 employees while maintaining employees’ overall pay, status, and benefits. The program would run for at least two years and would be designed to evaluate the effects of shorter workweeks on productivity, employee well-being, and business operations.
The bill also creates a tax credit for participating employers under the state tax law, with rules to be set by the Department of Labor in consultation with the Department of Taxation and Finance. Eligible employers would need to participate for at least one year and submit required reports to receive the credit, which could be structured as a fixed amount per employer, per employee, as a percentage of wages, or as an offset for hiring costs. The total annual amount of credits would be capped at $15 million, and public-sector employers could participate in the pilot but would not be eligible for the credit.
Impact
The bill would amend the Labor Law by adding a new section establishing a state-run pilot program for four-day workweeks and would also affect the Tax Law by authorizing a new tax credit for participating private-sector employers. It would require the Department of Labor to administer applications, select participants, collect employee and employer data, publish annual reports, and issue a final report with findings and recommendations. The measure would not mandate a four-day workweek statewide, but it would create a structured incentive and research framework that could influence future labor policy and employer practices.
Sentiment
The bill’s structure suggests generally favorable intent toward workplace flexibility, employee wellness, and experimentation with alternative scheduling. Because no committee transcript or vote record is provided, there is no documented floor or committee sentiment to measure directly. Based on the text alone, the proposal appears designed to be supportive of both workers and employers by pairing a voluntary pilot with financial incentives and data collection.
Contention
The main potential points of contention are likely to be the cost of the tax credit, the administrative burden on employers and the state, and whether a four-day workweek can be implemented without harming productivity or service delivery. Employers may also object to the reporting requirements, the requirement to maintain pay and benefits while reducing hours, or the limits on how the credit may be structured. Supporters are likely to emphasize employee well-being, recruitment and retention, and the value of using a pilot program to gather evidence before broader adoption.
Same As
Establishes the New York smart work week pilot program to promote, incentivize and support the use of a four-day work week by qualifying employers and to study the benefits and impacts of such work arrangements; defines terms; establishes a tax credit for participating qualifying employers and employees.
Establishes the New York smart work week pilot program to promote, incentivize and support the use of a four-day work week by qualifying employers and to study the benefits and impacts of such work arrangements; defines terms; establishes a tax credit for participating qualifying employers and employees.
Establishing the Four-Day Workweek Pilot Program; providing for tax credits to qualifying employers; and imposing duties on the Department of Labor and Industry and the Department of Revenue.
Establishes the "recovery ready workplace act" which provides for the certification of an employer to become a recovery ready workplace; defines terms; establishes the recovery-ready workplace program; provides criteria for employers to obtain certification as a recovery ready workplace; provides for employee involvement.
Establishes a four-day workweek pilot program for state employees; requires the division of the budget and the state department of civil service to identify state agencies or other jobs in the performance of any function of state government for which a four-day workweek is feasible and beneficial for at least sixty percent of state employees employed in such agency or job in the performance of such function of state government, and to implement a four-day workweek for such state employees.
Prohibits employers from using workplace surveillance tools to surveil employees in private, off-duty areas or a worker's residence, vehicle or property; defines terms; establishes penalties for violations of such provisions.
Mandates the workweek be reduced to 32 hrs. Rate of pay for a 32 hr workweek remains the same as the rate of pay for 40 hrs. Work in excess of 32 hrs in any one workweek qualify for overtime pay. Does not apply to employers with less than 500 employees.
Establishes Inclusive Workplaces Program in EDA to provide grants and tax credits to encourage employer investment in workspaces inclusive of neurodivergent employees; appropriates $2.5 million.