CA state worker return-to-office FAQ: What does Gavin Newsom’s order actually do?
More than two weeks have passed since Gov. Gavin Newsom surprised the state workforce by announcing a new return-to-office order. Public employees still have a host of questions for their boss.
One common line of inquiry: Where’s the evidence?
Newsom said in his executive order that returning to the office will improve efficiency and cohesion for state employees, but those who have been teleworking for years argue otherwise. The Governor’s Office has said studies demonstrate the benefits of in-person working environments but declined to share those.
Meanwhile, teleworking experts have found that hybrid work policies that allow employees to work from home at least two days a week don’t negatively impact productivity, but do improve retention.
Other questions abound and after soliciting questions, readers responded by submitting hundreds of inquiries via the Bee’s call-out form and through email.
Those questions have been distilled below and answered based on what we know so far about this directive and its impacts on state workers.
Why is Gavin Newsom ordering the return to office — and why now?
Gov. Gavin Newsom said in his March 3 executive order that the requirement that workers only come into the office two days a week, which he called for last year, was undermining the benefits of in-person work. He said the new four-day expectation “is an operational necessity, to maximize collaboration, cohesion, efficiency and accountability for delivering service to the public and to maintain public confidence in the efficiency and effectiveness of state government.”
But state workers, and other close observers speculate that other factors are at play. Is he trying to appeal to President Donald Trump — who signed an executive order that requires the heads of all departments and agencies under his authority to return to work in person full time — while disaster aid following the Los Angeles area fires has not been approved? Is Newsom doing it to try and help his future political ambitions?
The Governor’s Office cited the executive order in response to questions about the political timing of this decision. It also did not make Newsom available for an interview.
Can Gavin Newsom actually do this? What are unions doing to push back?
Newsom’s administration has the authority to direct departments under his jurisdiction to set the conditions of telework policies, but the state must bargain over the impacts of those changes with unions representing state employees, according to public sector law experts.
Several unions, including SEIU Local 1000, are fighting the return-to-office directive through unfair labor practices charges filed through the California Public Employment Relations Board. Unions argued that Newsom’s administration violated state labor law by failing to meet with employee representatives before issuing the return-to-office order, which will unilaterally change aspects of the state’s contracts with employees, such as the telework stipend.
The week after Newsom issued his directive, more than 1,000 state employees protested the governor’s decision in locations across California, according to SEIU Local 1000.
What does this mean for state office space?
Something is going to have to change. Currently, many state workers are sharing desks with their colleagues. How many is not known. Communication officials for several state agencies declined to provide specifics, but said they would be sharing their plans with the Department of General Services by April 1. The departments are supposed to share concerns about the return-to-office order with the Governor’s Office by May 1.
Won’t this be more expensive?
The cost of the order is not fully known.
The state may need to spend more money on office space to accommodate the larger number of workers in the office. But it also is expected to save money in other ways, including by spending less on telework stipends for workers.
What does the return-to-office order mean for telework stipends?
After California directed eligible employees to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, the state began issuing telework stipends to compensate individuals for expenses incurred related to their work, such as home internet.
Employees who work from home for at least half of the week receive a pre-tax $50 stipend each month. When the majority of teleworking employees begin working from state buildings four days a week this summer, in alignment with Newsom’s return-to-office order, they will receive a $25 payment per month. This amount is awarded to employees who are primarily based in offices.
How are state workers supposed to return to office when there’s not enough parking?
The return of employees to downtown Sacramento more frequently has been cited as a major concern for union leaders and agency heads alike.
The limited availability of parking in state-operated garages means a large number of public employees who commute by car will continue to park on downtown streets and in private lots. Those expenses were cited as a reason why many state employees see Newsom’s order as a pay cut.
To accommodate the hybrid work schedules of downtown employees in recent years, the state has increased the number of parking spots allocated to daily visitors compared to the number of monthly passes issued. This has contributed to a recent increase in parking revenue for the state.
It’s not clear how departments will address state workers’ parking concerns — if at all. A spokesperson for the Government Operations Agency encouraged employees to ask departments for parking information, including nearby locations and any subsidized monthly rates.
Are the governor and the Governor’s Office subject to the order?
Newsom’s order said it applied to “all agencies and departments subject to my authority.” When asked if it applied to the Governor’s Office, spokeswoman Tara Gallegos said: “Yes.”
What does this mean for agencies that are not under Newsom’s direction?
California has several constitutional offices that are run by elected officials independent of the governor’s authority. Those offices have responded in various ways to the governor’s return-to-office directive.
The California Department of Education, led by State Superintendent Tony Thurmond, said recently it would follow the governor’s lead and adopt a four-day, in-office workweek in solidarity with teachers and school staff who have been working in-person at schools for some time. Thurmond recently told employees that the policy would not be adopted until Dec. 31, 2025 to give the department time to “work through implementation challenges and opportunities.”
Attorney General Rob Bonta’s Office declined to alter its telework policy in response to the governor’s directive. The Department of Justice — the largest constitutional office — allows individual divisions to set hybrid work policies, which allows some employees to work fully remote.
Other independent agencies, such as the State Controller Office and the Department of Insurance, said they are maintaining their current telework policies and evaluating the impact of the governor’s order before making changes to their employees’ working conditions.
Two quasi-independent departments, the California Public Employees Retirement System and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, both declined to adopt the governor’s directive, citing the effectiveness of their employees’ current hybrid work status.
“We are not changing our hybrid work schedule at this time because we have complex projects at critical points that are using virtual training and implementation tools,” said Mindy Tirapelle, a CalSTRS spokesperson. “A change would disrupt those projects.”
Tirapelle said CalSTRS is still working on a department building to accommodate growth and plans to re-evaluate the hybrid work schedule in early 2026.
How does this help with CA’s goals of reducing carbon emissions?
The order is expected to increase emissions from vehicles, as workers drive into work more regularly and get stuck in traffic. By how much is not known. The state used to have a telework tracker that estimated emissions saved by having employees from certain agencies not driving into the office. But the funding for the dashboard was cut and the dashboard was deactivated.
Roy Kennedy, a spokesperson for the Government Operations Agency, said the state gives priority parking to employees who commute to work in electric vehicles. State workers can receive incentives for using mass transit, bicycles and vanpools to get to work.
Will any state workers be exempt from the return-to-office directive?
The California Department of Human Resources recently released statewide guidance on exceptions to the return-to-work order.
CalHR said employees who live more than 50 miles from their offices, based on the shortest, most commonly traveled distance, can continue working under remote work conditions established before the governor’s order.
Additionally, the guidance said some employees, such as telehealth providers, investigators and inspectors with hybrid work agreements that allow them to be based in non-office locations to provide services, should continue doing so.
Under the Fair Employment and Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act, employees with disabilities or health issues can request to work remotely as part of a reasonable accommodation. Individual departments are responsible for approving or denying those requests.
CalHR noted that telework agreements are honored on a case-by-case basis.
“If an employee changes positions or departments, the employee may be required to submit a new request for telework,” said a CalHR spokesperson.
Why did the governor issue the order without waiting for the State Auditor’s report on telework?
After the governor directed state employees back to office two days a week last year, Assemblymember Josh Hoover, R-Folsom, and his colleagues asked the State Auditor to conduct a review of “the rationale, timing, legality and costs associated with the decision to rescind telework privileges for state employees.”
The audit is still in the works. Hoover urged Newsom to pause his most recent order until the auditor releases the report audit.
“The Governor did not request the Auditor’s review and does not need to wait for a report to provide state agencies he oversees with direction,” said Gallegos, in response to an inquiry as to why Newsom didn’t wait until the audit was released before issuing his recent executive order.
The lawmaker also asked the State Auditor to ensure that the report is published before July 1, when state workers are expected back in government buildings four days a week.
This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 4:55 AM.
