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SD 317

An Act relative to a four-day work week pilot program

194th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Dylan Fernandes

Establishes a two-year Massachusetts pilot enabling selected private employers to shift eligible workers to a four-day work week without pay cuts, with tax credits and data-driven

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Bill Summary · SD 317

Summary: Senate Bill SD 317 — An Act relative to a four-day work week pilot program

Purpose and intent

  • Establishes a Massachusetts Smart Work Week Pilot to promote, incentivize, and study the use of a four-day work week by qualifying employers.
  • Aims to evaluate the benefits and impacts of such work arrangements on participating employees and employers.

Key definitions

  • Four-day work week: employees receive a meaningful reduction in actual work hours without any reduction in overall pay.
  • Pilot: the Massachusetts Smart Work Week Pilot Program.
  • Qualifying employer: an employer in Massachusetts that agrees to participate in the pilot.

Eligibility, applications, and selection

  • The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) must begin accepting applications within one year of enactment.
  • Applications must include a detailed plan to implement a four-day work week for at least 15 employees.
  • EOLWD will select qualifying employers from applicants, aiming for a diverse mix by size, occupation, industry, and location, including veteran-, women-, and minority-owned businesses and those owned by persons with disabilities.
  • Public sector employers may participate but are not eligible for the bill’s tax credits.

Employer commitments and employee rights

  • Selected employers must enter into an agreement to implement a plan transitioning designated employees to a four-day work week.
  • Participating employees will not experience a reduction in overall pay, status, or benefits.
  • Employers must inform employees of participation; employees may opt out of participation and of related data collection/interviews.
  • Employee data collected for the pilot must be anonymized.

Data collection and evaluation

  • Ongoing data collection includes employee surveys (start, mid-point, end), interviews (start and end), employer interviews (start and end), and monthly economic/administrative data from participants.
  • The executive office will publish annual progress reports (due by December 31 each year) and a final pilot report, detailing participation, demographics, economic and social impacts, well-being outcomes, and recommendations.

Pilot duration and reporting

  • The pilot lasts at least two years.
  • Annual progress reports are published online and shared with key legislative committees (Ways and Means; Labor and Workforce Development; Economic Development and Emerging Technologies).
  • A final report will be published online and submitted to the same committees, including comprehensive findings.

Tax credits

  • Qualifying employers may receive a credit against Massachusetts tax liability (Chapter 62) or excise (Chapter 63); public sector employers are ineligible.
  • The credit terminates at the end of the taxable year in which the pilot concludes.
  • Regulations will be issued to establish application procedures and credit calculation criteria.
  • Eligibility for the credit requires: (i) at least one year of pilot participation; (ii) submission of a transition and data-reporting exercise to the EOLWD.

Oversight and implementation details

  • Regulatory authority for the credit and procedures rests with the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, in consultation with the Department of Revenue.
  • The bill requires annual reporting to key legislators and the clerks of the House and Senate.

Status and context

  • Bill SD 317 is introduced in the 2025-2026 General Court session (Senate Docket No. 317), filed January 10, 2025, with the request originally from Senator Dylan A. Fernandes.
  • The text references a similar measure previously filed as House No. 3849 (2023-2024).

Potential impact

  • If enacted, could broaden experimentation with four-day work weeks across Massachusetts, generating data on productivity, employee well-being, and economic effects.
  • Offers a tax incentive to participating private employers, potentially offsetting transition costs.
  • Excludes public-sector employers from the tax credit component.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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