Get The State Worker Bee newsletter in your inbox
This is a preview of our weekly newsletter. Sign up here to receive exclusive tidbits like this one, as well as a weekly roundup of all our state worker coverage. Email tips to wmelhado@sacbee.com.
Ever since California departments and agencies started implementing hybrid work rules, critics have suggested that sooner or later, the state will creep back toward a full-time in-office model.
That once seemingly far-fetched scenario could become a reality for some state managers within departments under the California Health and Human Services Agency, according to an unreleased draft memo obtained by The Sacramento Bee.
“This memorandum (memo) is to inform you of the changes to your current telework schedule,” the memo reads. “On January 22, 2024, the California Health and Human Services (‘Agency’) announced employees would be required to work in person/onsite two (2) days per week beginning March 4, 2024.”
The draft memo includes blanks where managers can fill in the date by which their staff are supposed to return to the office, what days they’re expected to work in-person and to what address they’re supposed to report.
The memo also includes a warning about the consequences employees could face if they refuse to sign the telework agreement or sign it too late.
“Employees who fail to comply with the requirements outlined above by the specified date may have their telework agreement canceled, requiring you to report in person/onsite five (5) days per week.”
The manager who shared the memo works for a department under CalHHS. Due to a lack of union representation, they feared retaliation from their employer if identified by name. A spokesperson for the department told The Bee in a written statement that precise details of the new hybrid work model “are still under consideration.”
CalHHS did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.
The manager said the memo was not being sent to rank-and-file employees yet, just to supervisors and managers. But the manager told The Bee via text that they wouldn’t be surprised if the department sent the memo to all employees by summertime.
“Things seem to be moving more quickly than we were originally told.”
Want state worker news in your inbox? Sign up for our weekly newsletter using the module below or by emailing mmiller@sacbee.com.
