Union negotiates pause to CA return-to-office order for state worker engineers
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- State engineers secured one-year pause on return-to-office order via union deal.
- PECG drops legal challenges in exchange for three days of remote work weekly.
- New agreement grants 3% pay raise but offsets it with unpaid leave deductions.
In a major win for state engineers, the union representing Caltrans employees negotiated an immediate one-year suspension of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s return-to-office order that would have required public employees to work in-person four days a week starting July 1.
For months, the state engineers union had filed challenges to the governor’s executive order in superior court and California’s employment board as part of a broader effort by the public workforce to push back against the directive. The union agreed to drop those challenges in exchange for letting employees continue working remotely three days a week.
The side letter outlining the pause takes effect immediately and only applies to employees represented by the Professional Engineers in California Government. The union represents more than 10,000 workers, though not all of the union’s employees are able to telework. About one-third are employed by departments other than Caltrans. The letter directs departments to rescind any telework policies related to the governor’s March executive order for PECG-represented workers.
“After months of hard work, our Bargaining Team believes these two agreements are the best terms possible for our members at this time,” PECG Executive Director Ted Toppin said in a statement, announcing the side letter and a new three-year tentative agreement. “The package includes two pay raises and an immediate halt to the four-day return-to-office order for our members. In this budget environment, those are important achievements.”
The suspension of the executive order for some employees represents a departure from the governor’s previous messaging on the subject. Earlier this month, a bipartisan group of state legislators asked Newsom to delay the return-to-office order until the California State Auditor released a report on telework. At the time, the Governor’s Office maintained a deadline of July 1.
It’s not yet clear how the union’s telework win will impact remote work policies for state employees in other bargaining units.
“CalHR does not comment on the bargaining process or the rationale for the decisions reached by the parties as a result of bargaining,” Camille Travis, a CalHR spokesperson, said in a statement.
The union announced the suspension of the return-to-office order on Monday afternoon alongside a new three-year tentative agreement with CalHR, the state’s bargaining representative.
The proposal, which would go into effect in the upcoming fiscal year if approved by the Legislature and union members, grants employees a 3% salary increase in July. PECG-represented employees wouldn’t see another general salary increase the following two years.
The current proposal does include a 4.5% special salary adjustment for workers at the highest end of their pay scales. All others would get a 2% salary adjustment that year, in addition to 5% merit salary adjustment.
The 3% raise would be essentially offset by a personal leave program requiring PECG-represented employees to assume five hours of unpaid leave per month for two years. Employees could use that personal leave as vacation time or bank the hours and cash out at retirement. PECG said the leave program would reduce take-home pay by 3%, but it would not impact retirement-benefit calculations.
The proposal before employees also suspended employee contributions to the state retiree health care fund — about 2% of workers’ salaries. This option was floated by employee groups as a potential way to avoid salary freezes the governor proposed last month as a means of addressing California’s $12 billion deficit.
Additionally, California would cease paying state engineers a telework stipend at the end of the month under the current proposal.
CalHR said that the agreement aligned with the governor’s May budget proposal by saving California $38.6 million, with 7% coming from the general fund, in the upcoming fiscal year.
This story was originally published June 23, 2025 at 4:09 PM.
