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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 317 FILED ON: 1/10/2025
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1330
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Dylan A. Fernandes
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to a four-day work week pilot program.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Dylan A. FernandesPlymouth and Barnstable 1 of 6
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 317 FILED ON: 1/10/2025
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1330
By Mr. Fernandes, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1330) of Dylan A. Fernandes
that the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development be authorized to establish a
four-day work week pilot program. Labor and Workforce Development.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 3849 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act relative to a four-day work week pilot program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the
2executive office of labor and workforce development shall establish a pilot program to promote,
3incentivize and support the use of a four-day work week by qualifying employers and to study
4the benefits and impacts of such work arrangements on participating employees and employers.
5This program shall be known as the Massachusetts Smart Work Week Pilot.
6 (b) For the purposes of this act, the following terms shall have the following meanings,
7unless the context clearly requires otherwise:-
8 “Four-day work week”, employees receive a meaningful reduction in actual work hours
9without any reduction in overall pay. 2 of 6
10 “Pilot”, the Massachusetts Smart Work Week Pilot Program, as established in this act.
11 “Qualifying employer”, an employer operating in the commonwealth that enters an
12agreement to participate in the Massachusetts Smart Work Week Pilot Program subject to this
13act.
14 (c) Within one year of enactment, the executive office shall begin accepting applications
15from employers to participate in the pilot. The executive office shall publicize and promote such
16an application throughout the commonwealth and online to make application to the pilot
17accessible to all employers in the commonwealth. In addition to any other information required
18by the executive office, such applications by qualifying employers must include a detailed
19proposal to establish and implement a four-day work week for the qualifying employer’s
20workforce or a division of the qualifying employer’s workforce. The proposal must apply to no
21fewer than 15 employees employed by said qualifying employer.
22 (d) Based on the information provided in the application subject to subsection (c) of this
23section, the executive office shall select qualifying employers from the applicant pool to
24participate in the pilot. The executive office shall make every effort to select qualifying
25employers of diverse size, occupation, industry sector and geographical location to participate in
26the pilot, including participation of veteran-, women- and minority-owned businesses and
27businesses owned by persons with disabilities. Employers in the public sector may participate in
28the pilot but shall not be eligible for tax credits under Section 2 of this act.
29 (e) Upon selection to participate in the pilot, qualifying employers must enter into an
30agreement with the executive office providing that: 3 of 6
31 (i) the qualifying employer shall develop and implement a plan to transition its
32designated employees to a four-day work week;
33 (ii) an employee transitioning to a four-day work week under a qualifying employer will
34not receive a reduction in overall pay, status, or benefits; and
35 (iii) the executive office shall study and evaluate the impact of transitioning to a four-day
36work week through gathering employee and qualifying employer data, including, but not limited
37to, employee surveys, interviews, economic data, and other information.
38 (f) Qualifying employers shall inform their employees of said employer’s participation in
39the pilot and shall allow their employees to opt out of participation in the pilot. Employees who
40choose to participate in the pilot shall also be permitted to opt out of employee interviews,
41surveys, and any other information gathering methods. Qualifying employers shall notify their
42participating employees that collection of employee data for the purposes of this pilot shall be
43anonymized.
44 (g) The executive office shall research and collect data on an ongoing basis during the
45administration of the pilot. This shall include, but not be limited to: employee surveys to be
46conducted at the start, mid-point, and end of the pilot; employee interviews at the start and end of
47the pilot; participating employer, or designee, interviews at the start and end of the pilot and no
48later than December 31 of each year for the duration of the pilot; economic and administrative
49data from participating employers on a monthly basis.
50 (h) The pilot shall have a total duration of no less than two years. Annually, not later than
51December 31 for the duration of the pilot, the executive office shall publish a report on the
52progress of this pilot on its website and submit said report to the clerks of the house and senate, 4 of 6
53the joint committee on ways and means, the joint committee on labor and workforce
54development, and the joint committee on economic development and emerging technologies.
55Upon completion of the pilot, the executive office shall publish a final report online and submit
56said report to the clerks of the house and senate, the joint committee on ways and means, the
57joint committee on labor and workforce development, and the joint committee on economic
58development and emerging technologies. The final report shall include, but not be limited to: the
59total number of qualifying employers participating in the pilot; the size, occupation, industry
60sector and geographical location of qualifying employers participating in the pilot; demographic
61information of participating employees, including, but not limited to, age, gender and race; the
62economic and social impact of a four-day work week on the qualifying employers participating
63in the pilot; the impact of a four-day work week on the well-being and work life of participating
64employees; any findings or recommendations based on the research conducted on four-day work
65weeks.
66 SECTION 2. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, a qualifying
67employer shall be allowed a credit against the tax liability imposed by chapter 62 of the general
68laws or the excise due under chapter 63 of the general laws, as it applies, for participation in the
69Massachusetts Smart Work Week Pilot Program; provided, however, that an employer in the
70public sector shall not be eligible for the credit. This credit shall terminate at the end of the
71taxable year in which the conclusion of said pilot occurs.
72 (b) The secretary of labor and workforce development, in consultation with the
73department of revenue, shall promulgate regulations establishing criteria and procedure for: (i)
74an application process for the credit; and (ii) determining the amount of credit issued under this
75section. 5 of 6
76 (c) To be eligible for a credit under this section, a qualifying employer shall have:
77 (i) participated in the pilot for no less than one year; and
78 (ii) submitted a report to the executive office detailing its transition to a four-day work
79week, including data collection as described in subsection (g) of section 1 of this act.
80 (d) Prior to the issuance of any credit, the executive office shall confirm that the
81qualifying employer has maintained compliance with its proposal subject to subsection (c) of
82section 1 of this act.
83 (e) The executive office may determine the amount to be credited to a qualifying
84employer through one or a combination of the following:
85 (i) a fixed dollar amount for each qualifying employer;
86 (ii) a fixed dollar amount for each employee of the qualifying employer participating in
87the pilot;
88 (iii) a percentage of the wages paid to each employee of the qualifying employer
89participating in the pilot; or
90 (iv) a dollar amount that assists in offsetting a qualifying employer’s costs to hire new
91employees due to the qualifying employer’s participation in the program.
92 (f) The department of revenue, in consultation with the secretary of labor and workforce
93development, shall annually, no later than March 1, file a report on the tax credit for its duration.
94The report shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (i) total amount of tax credits 6 of 6
95claimed pursuant to this subsection and (ii) the number of applications received and the number
96of participating employers.