What's happening
This bill establishes a pilot program for a mandatory four-day work week for certain New York state employees to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
Why it matters
The bill requires the Governor to select which state offices or units will participate, taking into account factors such as the essential nature of public services, potential negative impacts on revenues or service, and opportunities for energy and cost savings. This means not all state employees will be included—critical services like law enforcement or health care may be exempt or handled differently.
The mandated four-day work week will run Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with Fridays off for participating offices. This could significantly change work-life balance, commuting patterns, and access to state services for both employees and the public.
Mechanisms must be put in place to accommodate employees facing substantial and unavoidable hardships due to the new schedule, and no employee can lose pay or benefits because of the pilot. This protects workers from negative personal or financial consequences and allows for flexibility if the schedule causes significant problems for individuals.
Detailed reporting is required: a baseline of current costs and energy use must be established before implementation, and after a year, a public report must compare these to the new costs, environmental impact, commuting effects, and satisfaction levels. This ensures data-driven evaluation and transparency, allowing policymakers and the public to judge whether the four-day week delivers its promised benefits.
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Test Four-Day Workweek
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to civil service and pensions
- Referred to civil service and pensions
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1287
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 14, 2019
Introduced by Sens. GIANARIS, PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
AN ACT to amend the civil service law and the general construction law, in relation to establishing a pilot program providing for a four-day work week for state employees
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature finds and declares that the current economic crisis necessitates rethinking the ways in which government services are provided. Finding more efficient and effective means of service delivery can enable government agencies to fulfill their missions while reducing expenses. State and local governments around the United States have begun to experiment with four-day schedules as a means of providing improved service to the public at lower cost. Providing for a four-day work week for many state employees could result in multiple benefits, including fiscal savings, expanded access to services for the public, reductions in energy demand, reduced commuting costs and traffic congestion, and decreased levels of pollution resulting from reductions in energy demand and vehicle miles traveled. Establishing a pilot program providing for a four-day work week will assist in dealing with the current economic crisis and enable decisionmakers to evaluate the long-term desirability of a four-day work week.
§ 2. The civil service law is amended by adding a new section 134-a to read as follows:
§ 134-a. Four-day work week pilot program. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the governor shall establish a pilot program providing for a mandatory four-day work week for state employees. Under such program, the work week for all state offices or units thereof
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04394-01-9
S. 1287 2
participating in the program shall be eight o'clock A.M. to six o'clock P.M., Monday through Thursday.
2. The governor shall determine the offices or other units in state agencies that will participate in the pilot program. In making such determinations, the governor shall evaluate:
(a) the extent to which such offices or units provide an essential public service, such as law enforcement or health care, that must be provided on a continuous basis;
(b) the extent to which a change to a four-day work week for a particular office or unit may have adverse impacts on revenues or public services;
(c) the ability of the state to benefit from reduced energy expenditures for leased space; and
(d) such other matters as the governor may deem appropriate.
3. The pilot program shall provide mechanisms for the accommodation of individual employees who can document that they would otherwise experience substantial and unavoidable hardships under the new schedule adopted pursuant to this section. No employee shall forfeit any remuneration or benefit by virtue of the operation of the pilot program, and the governor shall be authorized and empowered to vary the provisions of any statute or regulation relating to vacation and leave credits, by executive order, to ensure that no such forfeiture occurs.
4. The governor shall initiate the pilot program not more than one hundred twenty days after the effective date of this section. Such program shall run for a period of not less than two years after initiation. The department shall prepare and make public a baseline report detailing the operating costs, including energy usage and the costs of building maintenance, attributable to affected offices and units of state agencies prior to their participation in the pilot program. Not later than one hundred twenty days after the pilot program has been operational for a full year, the department shall submit to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly a report comparing such baseline costs to the energy and environmental impacts and building cost savings resulting from the pilot program. Such report shall also estimate the impact of the pilot program on other variables, including but not limited to commuter miles traveled, commuting costs, and public and employee satisfaction with the program.
5. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to diminish the rights, privileges or remedies of any state employee pursuant to any agreement entered into pursuant to article fourteen of this chapter or any other employment contract.
§ 3. Section 20 of the general construction law, as amended by chapter 172 of the laws of 1988, is amended to read as follows:
§ 20. Day, computation. A number of days specified as a period from a certain day within which or after or before which an act is authorized or required to be done means such number of calendar days exclusive of the calendar day from which the reckoning is made. If such period is a period of two days, Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday must be excluded from the reckoning if it is an intervening day between the day from which the reckoning is made and the last day of the period. In computing any specified period of time from a specified event, the day upon which the event happens is deemed the day from which the reckoning is made. The day from which any specified period of time is reckoned shall be excluded in making the reckoning. Whenever any payment of money, performance of a condition or other action is authorized or
S. 1287 3
required to be done within a period of time, and such period ends on a Friday on which a state agency which is a necessary party to the payment, performance or action is not open by virtue of participating in a four-day work week pilot program pursuant to section one hundred thirty-four-a of the civil service law, such Friday may be deemed a "public holiday" for the purposes of time computation.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the civil service law and the general construction law, in relation to establishing a pilot program providing for a four-day work week for state employees
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill would establish a pilot program for a mandatory 4-day work week for state agencies, in order to provide fiscal, environmental and energy benefits to New Yorkers.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 declares Legislative Findings regarding the benefits of a 4-day work week.
Read the full memo (643 words)
Section 2 adds a new § 134-a to the Civil Service Law providing for establishment by the Governor of a mandatory 4-day work week pilot program for state employees. Under such program:
*the work week for all state offices (or units thereof) participating in the program will be 8 a.m to 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
*the Governor determines the offices or other units in state agencies that will participate in the pilot program, after evaluating the extent to which such offices or units provide an essential public service, such as law enforcement or health care, that must be provided on a continuous basis; the extent to which a change to a 4-day work week for a partic- ular office or unit may have adverse impacts on revenues or public services; the ability of the state to benefit from reduced energy expenditures for leased space; and other matters he deems appropriate.
*mechanisms are provided for accommodating employees who would otherwise experience substantial and unavoidable hardships under the new schedule.
*no employee shall forfeit any remuneration or benefit by virtue of the operation of the pilot program, and the Governor may vary the provisions of any statute or regulation relating to vacation and leave credits, by executive order, to ensure that no such forfeiture occurs.
*the program shall be initiated within 120 days of enactment and run for a period of not less than 2 years, with a midterm comparing baseline agency operating costs to the energy and environmental impacts and building cost savings resulting from the pilot program. Such report shall also estimate the impact of the pilot program on other variables, including but not limited to commuter miles traveled, commuting costs, and public and employee satisfaction with the program.
Section 3 amends S 20 of the General Construction Law to ensure that official acts that would otherwise need to be performed on a non-busi- ness day under the pilot program would carry over until the next succeeding business day.
Justification
In a constant effort to reduce state operating costs, it is important to rethink the ways in which government services are provided. Finding more efficient and effective means of service delivery can enable government agencies to fulfill their missions while reducing expenses. State and local governments around the United States have begun to experiment with four-day schedules as a means of providing improved service to the public at lower cost.
Implementing a four-day work week for many New York State employees could result in multiple benefits, including fiscal savings, expanded access to services for the public, reductions in energy demand, reduced commuting costs and traffic congestion, and decreased levels of pollution resulting from reductions in energy demand and vehicle miles traveled. Establishing a pilot program providing for a four-day work week will enable decision makers to evaluate the long-term impact of this innovative cost savings effort.
Prior legislative history
2018:Died in Civil Service and Pensions
2017:Died in Civil Service and Pensions
2016:Died in Civil Service and Pensions
2015:Died in Civil Service and Pensions
2014:Died in Civil Service and Pensions
2013:Died in Civil Service and Pensions
2012:Died in Civil Service and Pensions
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
This bill will result in short term fiscal savings for New York State and provide data which can be used for long-term cost reduction.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.