Gavin Newsom doubles down on return-to-office mandate

Gov. Gavin Newsom is barreling ahead with forcing California state workers back to the office, flatly rejecting calls to soften a return-to-work mandate that unions warn could trigger a “mass exodus” of employees.

Starting July 1, roughly 100,000 state workers will be required to report to the office or the field four days a week, leaving just one day for telework under Newsom’s long-delayed executive order.

Despite mounting backlash from organized labor and state employees, the governor made it clear there will be no retreat.

Asked directly whether he’d consider easing the four-day in-office requirement, Newsom didn’t blink.

“No chance.”

He doubled down moments later, on a call with KCRA saying, “It’s ridiculous, four days a week.”

The mandate is set to kick in next month as part of a broader implementation timeline tied to a previously delayed executive order.

The policy push comes as Newsom and Democratic lawmakers just finalized California’s budget, though the governor emphasized the return-to-office directive is not part of those negotiations.

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The showdown is already escalating with SEIU Local 1000, the state’s largest employee union, which has warned the mandate could spark a wave of departures if enforced.

Union leadership argues workers have successfully kept state government running under hybrid schedules since the pandemic and see no justification for the stricter requirement.

SEIU representatives have also pointed to growing frustration among employees, some of whom say they may opt for retirement rather than return to offices four days a week.

Anica Walls of SEIU 1000 said the policy could push already “teetering” workers over the edge.

“We have individuals who have been teetering retirement, who look at this 4-days a week when they have been doing their job efficiently in a hybrid schedule will probably send them into a retirement,” said Anica Walls with SEIU 1000, in an interview with KCRA last week.

Workers have even taken the fight public, funding a Sacramento-area billboard warning the policy could increase state spending and worsen traffic congestion.

Newsom, meanwhile, suggested the political battle may outlast his own tenure, saying the next governor could ultimately be forced to confront or renegotiate the issue with SEIU.

The dispute lands amid broader workforce trends that continue to favor remote flexibility.

Data from Buffer and Forbes Advisor indicates roughly 98% of remote-capable professionals prefer to work remotely at least part of the time.

Studies from Gallup and Robert Half show between 75% and 94% of workers prefer hybrid or fully remote arrangements over traditional in-office jobs.