Newsom Orders State Workers Back To Office 4 Days A Week

CALIFORNIA — Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued an executive order directing all state workers back to the office four days a week, according to his office.

On Monday, all agencies and departments in the state were given the order to update their hybrid telework policies to a default of at least four days per week by July 1.

Newsom aims to steer California out of a post-pandemic work model that has allowed thousands of government employees to work remotely for years.

"In-person work makes us all stronger — period. 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," the governor wrote in a statement.

The action has reignited tensions between the governor and labor unions, who previously pushed back against Newsom's earlier order to return the state government's workforce to the office two days per week.

SEIU Local 1000, which represents approximately 95,000 state employees in California — the same number required to return to the office — has called the order "unnecessary" and "a step backward."

According to a 2024 productivity report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 2019 to 2022, industries with more remote workers saw higher productivity growth, even after considering pre-pandemic productivity trends.

This was largely due to lower unit costs, especially nonlabor costs, in industries that adopted more remote work, according to the report.

Timothy O'Connor, president of CASE, the union representing state attorneys, told CalMatters that Newsom was overlooking the effectiveness and cost-saving benefits of remote work.

“We think this is just sudden, comes out of nowhere, and it’s a misguided mandate that really ignores the benefits of telework,” O’Connor told CalMatters. “This is a very harsh order.”

Newsom's order notes that a growing number of public sectors and private employers have called employees back to in-person work.

"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 union wrote in a statement.

SEIU Local 1000, which is organizing an informational picket rally, is calling on the governor to reverse the action, arguing that it was a decision motivated by political ambitions.

"This isn’t about better service to Californians – it’s about political posturing at workers’ expense. This mandate ignores the realities of modern work and punishes workers for no good reason," the union said. "It’s a short-sighted decision that disregards the success of hybrid work and the financial strain it will put on state employees."

The return-to-office push also mirrors similar sentiments imposed by President Donald Trump for workers on the federal level.

What's more, on the heels of mass firings at the federal level, the governor also directed the state to streamline a hiring process for federal employees recently fired by the Trump Administration within the same order.

Currently, California employs more than 224,000 full-time state workers, tens of thousands of which were ordered to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.