More than 100,000 California state employees face a return-to-office mandate requiring four days a week in-person work starting July 1, and opposition from workers and lawmakers has intensified as the deadline approaches. Governor Gavin Newsom issued the order last year, arguing it will improve collaboration and revitalize Sacramento’s downtown, but state workers are pushing back hard over financial and personal costs.
Dozens of state employees packed the California Capitol on Wednesday to support Assembly Bill 1729, which would not overturn the mandate but would require state agencies to justify in writing why workers must return to the office. The bill would also create an online dashboard showing cost savings from telework programs.
The Senate’s labor committee advanced AB 1729 in a 4-1 vote on June 18. The measure has passed unanimously through every committee step so far, according to KCRA, and must clear at least one more committee before heading to the full Senate for a vote. If approved, Governor Newsom would need to sign it for it to take effect immediately.
State workers cited mounting expenses as their primary concern. Julia-Rose Pacheco, an employee at the California Franchise Tax Board and vice president of a local group within SEIU Local 1000—which represents at least 50,000 workers in the Sacramento area—told FOX40 that the financial burden would be severe. “Gas prices are outrageous,” Pacheco said. “I will be forced to look into public transit. I will have to hop onto a different bus line and then light rail. I can’t afford that either.” Other workers raised concerns about parking, childcare, and commuting costs.
Assemblymember Alex Lee, a Milpitas Democrat and author of AB 1729, said the mandate would hurt recruitment and morale. “I could see a lot of people quitting and not wanting to resume their jobs,” Lee warned, according to FOX40. “There is no productivity loss when we have people teleworking when you don’t have to sit in traffic two hours per day, don’t have to pay for parking.” Lee cited a 2024 state audit showing that remote work saves the state money, reduces pollution, and boosts productivity and employee morale, according to CalMatters.
The current post-pandemic hybrid policy allows most state employees to work remotely three days each week and go to the office for the other two. Newsom’s order would shift that to four days in-office. The implementation was already delayed last year after a temporary truce between unions and the governor’s office, according to CalMatters.
State worker unions—except those representing public safety employees—are backing Lee’s bill. SEIU Local 1000, the state’s largest worker union, has given at least $2 million to current California lawmakers, according to CalMatters. One state worker with the California Department of Pesticide Regulation testified at the hearing: “We spent seven years and millions of dollars to go paperless … I can do my work evaluating pesticides from the space station if necessary,” CalMatters reported.
The bill’s timeline remains uncertain. The state Senate is currently negotiating the state budget, which must be finalized within the next few weeks, and it is unclear whether the return-to-office issue will be included in those negotiations, according to KCRA.
Sources
- FOX40 — State workers’ concerns about commuting costs and Assemblymember Lee’s warnings about employee retention and productivity.
- CalMatters — Details on AB 1729, the 2024 state audit findings, union support, and the postponement of the original mandate.
- KCRA — Senate committee vote, bill’s legislative progress, and timeline for final Senate action.
