California Governor Orders 100,000 State Workers to Get Back to the Office.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, work from home became a huge part of everyone’s life from private sector jobs to government jobs. It seemed like everyone knew someone who worked from home and that trend had continued on despite the Covid-19 pandemic being officially over for some years now. Workers realized the time and cost-saving benefit of not having to commute, eat meals out of the home, or to even get dressed for an in-office work day.

Well, California’s Governor Newsom has recently ordered approximately 108,000 state workers to return back to the office for at least four days out of the week. For many of these state workers, they have spent the better part of six years working from home. California was one of the first states to mandate a stay-at-home order, forcing workers to work from home beginning on March 19, 2020. Governor Newsom stated that “[i]n-person work makes us all stronger-period...When we work together, collaboration improves, innovation thrives, and accountability increases.” The intention is to produce better service and deliver better results for the people of California. Of course, state workers can ask for an exception on a case-by- case basis.

Governor Newsom’s order was met with opposition and the Service Employees International Union, California’s largest union that represents approximately 100,000 state workers, filed a lawsuit on June 20, 2026. The Union President Anica Walls argued that “[s]tate workers successfully transitioned to telework during the pandemic, saving taxpayer dollars, reducing pollution, and improving service delivery. The governor is now attempting to undo that progress behind closed doors and with unilateral action.” The Union claims that the state of California has saved approximately $700 million by allowing state workers to work from home.

Currently, California has approximately 224,000 full-time state workers and more than half are already working in-person everyday. The in-person group includes all law enforcement, healthcare workers, maintenance workers, and safety inspectors.

Governor Newsom’s recent order may signal a shift back to in-office work for private sector employees. Employers have had the better part of the past six years to contemplate which model works best for their businesses- work from home or work from the office. It will be interesting to see what employers decide to do in the coming years.