FT 13.12 – Thirty-Two Hour Week Act (Law)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

AN ACT
to establish the thirty-two hour week

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this Act shall be the "Thirty-Two Hour Week Act."

Section 2 (Thirty-two hour week)
i. No employee shall be required to work more than thirty-two hours a week.
ii. Any employee who should voluntarily work more than thirty-two hours in a given a week shall be compensated at 120% of their regular hourly salary for every hour they work after the thirty-second.

Section 3 (Adjusting the minimum wage)
i. §3(i) of the Rights of Working People Act of 2017 shall be amended to read as follows:

The minimum hourly rate of compensation shall be equal the calculated Living Wage in the county wherein the work was performed.
(a) The Living Wage shall be calculated according to the following formula.

Living Wage =
{(Food) + (Child Care) [(Insurance Premium) + (Medical Care)] + (Housing) + (Transportation) + (Other Necessities)} ÷ 1,664

Section 4 (Implementation)
i. This Act shall take effect on the first day of the 2021 fiscal year.

Sponsor: Harry S Truman, Speaker

The member from North Dakota has the floor.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

As it says on the tin, really —this bill would define full-time work in Frémont as thirty-two hours a week, require employers to pay overtime for work over thirty-two hours, and adjust the minimum wage formula accordingly. Not only will this provide much-needed respite to an overworked and underpaid working class, it will create new opportunities for employment in industries that need the manpower while appropriately adjusting to modern labor needs in others where automatization plays an increased role.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

As it says on the tin, really —this bill would define full-time work in Frémont as thirty-two hours a week, require employers to pay overtime for work over thirty-two hours, and adjust the minimum wage formula accordingly. Not only will this provide much-needed respite to an overworked and underpaid working class, it will create new opportunities for employment in industries that need the manpower while appropriately adjusting to modern labor needs in others where automatization plays an increased role.

Wouldn't this just result in employers cutting everyone's hours to 32, resulting in a pay cut for most Atlasians?

§3 is specifically designed to prevent this for workers earning the minimum wage. For everyone else, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2018, the average Atlasian worked 34.4 hours in a typical week. (Source) The real effect of this bill will be to increase wages for hourly employees who work more than 32 hours a week, as employers will likely find it more economical to pay slightly more in overtime than to hire new employees to do a few hours' work each week.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

And this isn't going to do anything to stop the move towards part-time work, which is what is actually hurting the working class.

This is, indeed, a significant problem: one I would be happy to work with the honorable member (and anyone else interested) in addressing by a separate bill, or an amendment to this one. My first instinct is that the best way to attack companies deliberately keeping their employees part-time would be through the corporate tax code, though I'm not sure exactly how. A more radical solution, I suppose would be to abolish part-time work entirely.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

As we've had no more debate, I move for a vote.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

It seems the momentum is against this bill, but it has languished on the floor long enough. Regardless of the outcome, I intend to bring legislation to address the concerns raised by ASV and fhtagn in the next parliament.

Members will vote Aye, Nay, or abstain. Voting will last 48 hours or until all members have voted.


Aye

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

With two members in favor, one opposed, and one not voting, the resolution carries.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

AN ACT
to establish the thirty-two hour week

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this Act shall be the "Thirty-Two Hour Week Act."

Section 2 (Thirty-two hour week)
i. No employee shall be required to work more than thirty-two hours a week.
ii. Any employee who should voluntarily work more than thirty-two hours in a given a week shall be compensated at 120% of their regular hourly salary for every hour they work after the thirty-second.

Section 3 (Adjusting the minimum wage)
i. §3(i) of the Rights of Working People Act of 2017 shall be amended to read as follows:

The minimum hourly rate of compensation shall be equal the calculated Living Wage in the county wherein the work was performed.
(a) The Living Wage shall be calculated according to the following formula.

Living Wage =
{(Food) + (Child Care) [(Insurance Premium) + (Medical Care)] + (Housing) + (Transportation) + (Other Necessities)} ÷ 1,664

Section 4 (Implementation)
i. This Act shall take effect on the first day of the 2021 fiscal year.