It worked fine in France, ended up raising the overall productivity of their economy. France now has a higher standard of living than the US, so it might be worth looking at what they're doing right.
Now, I very much believe in the spirit of the concept. Bertrand Russell hit the nail:
http://www.zpub.com/notes/idle.html
But through legislation, no. It needs to be a culturally grown movement.
Also, the US has a higher Human Development Index rating than France: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Deve...
and on whatever the Legatum Prosperity Index is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legatum_Prosperity_Index
and Germany's OECD's Better Life Index (using the "weigh all of these equally" measure): http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/#11111111111
I would argue that standard of living is higher in the US.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Deve...
Also, a single number will be misleading. France has fewer immigrants and thus a different cultural structure. It also has very different neighbors and trade partners.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_foreign-bo...
"I think you need a lot of context to seriously examine anything." -- The Wire, Season 5
http://news.yahoo.com/p-downgrades-france-credit-rating-aa-0...