Three Day Weekend-Every Weekend? It May Be a Boon for Maryland Employers.

Maryland State Delegate Vaughn Stewart has proposed a bill in the Maryland Legislature that would offer a state tax credit to employers who participate in a pilot program instituting a four-day (32 hour) workweek.  Employees must not receive a reduction in benefits or pay as a result of the transition to the four-day workweek in order for employers to be eligible to receive the tax credit.  Participation in the pilot program for one year would be required to claim the credit.  No further details on the bill are available at this time, as the bill must still be approved by the House, Senate, and governor to become law, but if the bill is passed, the pilot program would be effective July 1, 2023.

A recent study showed that 97 percent of private employers who participated in a similar pilot program run by a nonprofit agency chose not to return to the five-day workweek after experimenting with the four-day workweek for six months.