In summary
The governor’s announcement affects most of the state labor and will take effect on July 1.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive decree today forcing that all state agencies and departments that continue to offer distance work require a minimum of four days in person per week of work from July 1. Exceptions can be offered on a case -by -case basis.
“Work in person makes us stronger-a period,” he said in a statement. “When we work together, collaboration improves, prosperous innovation and responsibility increases. This means better service, better solutions and better results for Californians, while allowing flexibility. »»
The order is likely to inflamm tensions between the governor and the unions representing public employees, who fought against previous efforts to limit telework for the workforce of the state. About 95,000 employees continue to work at a distance or on a hybrid basis, according to the Governor’s office.
Newsom has already called workers at the office at least two days a week last April, citing improved efficiency, mentoring and supervision from work in person.
His new order argues that these advantages were compromised by the schedules of employees who were not aligned and also notes that “several primary employers in the private sector have recently increased the work requirements in person”. But the governor’s office refused to answer a question about the reason why Newsom was now moving to bringing state workers back to the office most of the time.
The legal challenges of return to the office are underway and will hardly end with Newsom’s latest mandate. An arbitration decision last year involving a case, the union representing state lawyers, strengthened the Authority of California to force employees at work in person, but the union has appealed and other cases continue.
Timothy O’Connor, the president of the case, said that Newsom gave the effectiveness of remote work, which, according to supporters, stimulates the productivity and well-being of employees while saving money for the state.
“We believe that it is completely sudden, comes out of nowhere, and it is an erroneous mandate that really ignores the advantages of telework,” said O’Connor in an interview. “It’s a very hard order.”
But the governor led him as a question of equity for all of the state work of more than 224,000 people. More than half have continued to present themselves to work in person every day throughout the pandemic and more returned to the office, according to its order, in particular law enforcement agents, health care providers, road maintenance workers and concierge staff.
In the midst of mass layoffs in the federal government, Newsom’s order also includes a provision aimed at rationalizing the hiring of former federal employees in key roles such as fire fighting, meteorological forecasts, forest management, mental health and science.
