Newsom orders 4-day RTO for state workers, union calls him “reckless”

First President Donald Trump ordered federal workers back to the office. Now Gov. Gavin Newsom has called most of the state’s workers back to their desks nearly full time.

Newsom issued an executive order directing state workers to return to the office four days a week, reversing a post-pandemic policy that allowed around 95,000 employees to work from home most of the week, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The order is expected to take effect on July 1.

The change comes after Trump last month summoned many federal workers back to the office, and corporations such as Salesforce, Amazon.com and JPMorgan Chase canceled remote work options for their employees.

“In-person work makes us all stronger — period,” Newsom said in a statement. “When we work together, collaboration improves, innovation thrives, and accountability increases. That means better service, better solutions, and better results for Californians, while still allowing flexibility.”

The state has 224,000 full-time employees, of which 60 percent work in jobs like janitors and highway patrol officers that require they show up in person each day. The policy change is expected to apply to the 40 percent of workers who now must report to an office at least two days a week.

The governor’s order doesn’t apply to workers hired under agreements to exclusively work from home.

Public sector labor unions that represent state workers object to the order to return to the office, saying the change would come at workers’ expense.

SEIU Local 1000, the largest public-sector union in the nation, called on Newsom to “reverse this reckless decision.” It accused the governor of “political posturing at workers’ expense.”

Anica Walls, local president for the union, said returning workers “will face higher costs for gas, parking and commuting,” according to a statement. She condemned California, the “tech capital of the world,” for “clinging to outdated policies instead of embracing the modern workplace.”

“Gov. Newsom’s decision to force state workers back into the office four days a week is out of touch, unnecessary and a step backward,” Walls said.

Another union, California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges, and Hearing Officers in State Employment, blasted the decision as “misguided.”

A shift back to in-person work has been lauded by local officials, who blame remote work for emptying out offices in downtowns, where restaurants and businesses have closed because of less foot traffic.

Sacramento County has nearly 90,000 state workers, the most in California, followed by Los Angeles County with 20,000, according to the state controller’s office. San Francisco has 3,506 state workers.

— Dana Bartholomew