Gov. Newsom Orders State Workers Return-to-Office 5 Years After Original Covid Lockdown Order

Five years after his original Covid lockdown order, sending nearly the entire state workforce of “non-essential” workers packing in 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a “get back to the office” order Monday… but not until July 1, 2025, and only 4 days a week.

Newsom’s original order also locked down private sector businesses, K-12 schools, and colleges and universities, most of which were already back at work and school by the time he lifted his original lockdown order February 28, 2023 – three years later.

It’s March 3, 2025 and California state workers are still working from home in flannel jammies and slippers… some of who are very clearly still “non-essential.”

For what it is worth, the news never takes a day off, and I am assuming government services don’t either. Could there be so much redundancy in state government that Fridays off won’t matter?

Newsom’s executive order requires “all agencies and departments within his Administration to update their hybrid telework policies to a default of at least four days per week by July 1, 2025. The order establishes a four-day-per-week in-office expectation, with further telework flexibilities granted on a case-by-case basis in light of individual circumstances, consistent with the executive order and existing family-friendly employment policies and legal obligations.”

“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.”

Well “La Dee Frickin’ Da!” as the hilarious Chris Farley used to say.

President Donald Trump put an end to remote work by federal employees January 21, 2025, his first day in office. Trump’s executive order told directors of all federal departments and agencies to enforce a fully-in-person 5-day-workweek:

“Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of Government shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary.”

Trump also implemented a hiring freeze:

“I hereby order a freeze on the hiring of Federal civilian employees, to be applied throughout the executive branch.  As part of this freeze, no Federal civilian position that is vacant at noon on January 20, 2025, may be filled, and no new position may be created except as otherwise provided for in this memorandum or other applicable law.  Except as provided below, this freeze applies to all executive departments and agencies regardless of their sources of operational and programmatic funding.”

While President Trump’s back-to-the-office order and hiring freeze is eliciting a lot of kvetching in D.C., it is also designed to suss out the deadwood in the federal government – something Governor Newsom should also be doing, figuratively and literally.

But don’t you worry your little head about Gavin Newsom – he’s not sitting on his hands. According to Newsom, he “has led an ambitious effort to modernize California’s state workforce, streamline hiring, and improve government efficiency to better serve the public. His administration has cut outdated hiring barriers and launched faster recruitment efforts, modernized digital government services, reduced bureaucratic inefficiencies, implemented reforms that have cut wait times, and reformed procurement and IT systems.”

During last year’s budget talks and negotiations, the Legislative Analyst’s Office reported that salaries and benefits for California’s approximately 250,000 state employees cost the state $40 billion a year ($160,000 average salary in California state government).

And most of those 250,000 state employees are protected by labor union contracts.

So the governor will cut vacant positions that haven’t been filled, but have been budgeted for. What a scheme.

Nothing to see here folks. But the whining we are anticipating from California’s state employee workforce will likely be wailing, and much more dramatic than the federal workers… just because it’s the entitlement State of California.