Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order Monday directing state workers to return to the office four days a week, shifting California government away from a post-pandemic model that allows roughly 95,000 government employees to clock in remotely for most of the week.
The change, which is expected to take effect July 1, comes after President Trump called many federal government workers back to the office last month and as corporations continue to retract remote work options.
“In-person work makes us all stronger — period,” Newsom said in a statement. “When we work together, collaboration improves, innovation thrives, and accountability increases. That means better service, better solutions, and better results for Californians, while still allowing flexibility.”
California has more than 220,000 full-time state employees and about 60% work in positions — janitors and highway patrol officers, for example — that already require them to report in person daily. The policy change is expected to apply to about 40% of the workforce who are currently required to report to an office at least two days a week. Newsom’s order does not apply to workers who were hired under agreements to exclusively work from home.
The move put the Democratic governor at odds with the powerful public sector labor unions that represent state workers in California.
SEIU Local 1000, the largest public sector union in the country, called on Newsom to “reverse this reckless decision” and accused the governor of “political posturing at workers’ expense.”
In a statement, the union’s president, Anica Walls, said returning workers “will face higher costs for gas, parking, and commuting” as the cost of living in California squeezes working families. She condemned California, the “tech capital of the world,” for “clinging to outdated policies instead of embracing the modern workplace.”
“Gov. Newsom’s decision to force state workers back into the office four days a week is out of touch, unnecessary, and a step backward,” Walls said in a statement. “State employees kept this state running through the pandemic, proving that remote and hybrid work increase productivity, improve work-life balance, and make state jobs more competitive — all while saving taxpayer dollars.”
The California Assn. of State Attorneys and Administrative Law Judges also blasted the decision as “misguided.”
The association said the order ignores the “well-documented benefits of telework, including higher productivity, improved employee well-being, and cost savings for the state” and will make it more difficult to recruit attorneys.
“The governor’s order is not aimed at improving services — it’s about optics,” Timothy O’Connor, president of the association’s board of directors, said in a statement.
The societal shift back to in-person work has been embraced by local officials, who blame remote work policies for the degradation of downtown districts that have experienced restaurant and business closures due to a shortage of patrons. Sacramento County has nearly 90,000 state workers, the most in California, followed by Los Angeles County with 20,000, according to data from the state controller’s office.
Newsom’s order also calls for the state to “streamline the hiring process for former federal employees seeking employment” to fill vacant state disaster response and emergency roles, including in firefighting, forest management and weather forecasting. With the help of billionaire Elon Musk, Trump is reducing the size of the federal workforce and has cut thousands of employees from the payroll.
