(The Center Square) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered state employees to return to the office four days a week by July 1, 2025, noting that state offices’ custodial, janitorial, and maintenance staff — and much of the public — are already working in person every day.
The governor also ordered the state’s human resources department to make it easier for the state to hire former federal employees who may have been impacted by recent federal cuts.
“Ongoing disparities around in-person work expectations across departments and within classifications for state employees raise issues of fundamental fairness, particularly for classifications of employees who must report in-person five days a week, including custodial and janitorial staff,” said Newsom in his order. “Increasing in-person work expectations for state employees will also promote trust with members of the public, many of whom must report to work in-person for their own jobs, that state government is working effectively for them.”
Newsom’s order says the state’s departments have more than 224,000 full-time state employees, who, according to the most recent state data available, make an average of $86,852 per year in wages, and another $40,138 per year in retirement and health benefits, or $126,990 per year.
This means the state spends $2.84 billion on wages and benefits for its full-time department staff.
Newsom also referenced recent jobs cuts by the Trump administration, ordering CalHR to take in former federal workers.
“To further enhance the state’s workforce needs, the Governor is also directing CalHR to streamline the hiring process for former federal employees seeking employment in key roles, including firefighting, forest management, and weather forecasting,” said Newsom’s office in a statement. “With federal workforce reductions, California is strategically recruiting experienced professionals to fill key job openings in firefighting, extreme weather forecasting, climate resilience, and water management roles — ensuring the state remains prepared for natural disasters and environmental challenges — in addition to other critical fields such as medical and mental health care.”
With the governor’s budget requesting a $7 billion withdrawal from reserves to fund the state’s proposed $322 billion budget, and volatile stocks making up a significant portion of the state’s projected revenue for the year, it’s unclear if the state can afford to hire more staff.
It’s also unclear what possible penalties for noncompliance with the order might be, and if the order could be a prelude to state layoffs. With a state report finding private sector employment started declining in 2022, only offset by substantial growth in government and government-adjacent hiring, decreases in government jobs could have a major effect on the state economy.
