By admin 
California state workers have made their opposition to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s four-day return-to-office mandate hard to miss.
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They have protested outside downtown Sacramento office buildings and called for boycotts of local businesses while their unions have filed more than a dozen charges with the Public Employment Relations Board.
Yet workers generally aren’t quitting.
Employee retention data shows that resignations this summer among state workers are at their lowest in the last four, even with the mandate taking effect July 1. About 1,300 employees resigned across state agencies in July and August combined, according to data from the California Department of Human Resources. Voluntary departures were down 5.4% in July and nearly 20.5% in August compared to data from 2025.
Retirements, meanwhile, have remained relatively steady. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System reports a 1.12% year-over-year increase in retirements this July. Information has not been released for August.
These numbers complicate the picture of a state workforce unhappy with a new policy that some workers say disrupts their daily lives and question if returning to the office could bring health risks, longer commutes, lost time and higher gas costs.
“If I were forced into an environment that jeopardizes my health, I would retire earlier and take my expertise and institutional knowledge with me,” said Francesca Wander, a disaster recovery specialist at the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
For workers like Wander, the stakes of office policies extend beyond where they spend their workday, but if those concerns will ultimately push employees out of state government remains a possibility. The first two months of data suggest it hasn’t happened yet.
There aren’t immediate signs the state is struggling to fill positions either. The vacancy rate stood at 16.3% in July and 16.6% in August, below the 17.2% rate recorded during the same months last year. That continues a longer-term decline in the state’s vacancy rate, which was about 20.6% in summer 2023.
Why might state workers keep their jobs
These retention benchmarks coincide with three trends possibly explaining the desire to retain a job — economic uncertainty, the benefits of state employment and the continued fight for telework.
Economic factors are front and center.
As gas prices climb and tariffs continue, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco reports shoppers aren’t spending as much on nonessentials like recreational gear and restaurants. These behaviors coincide with the Federal Reserve signaling the current job market favors employers. There are “plentiful applicant pools” of high-quality candidates and some companies are laying off employees.
People are being less risky with their wallets and are likely to stay in their jobs unless a new gig arises. However, state workers don’t have just any position. The pension plans are less risky and it’s easy to move around agencies when it’s time for something new.
“The state is the most secure job that you’re going to get anywhere in this immediate, four-county area,” said Michelle Allen, a career coach who helps prospective state workers in Sacramento.
Allen also gives lectures about the state’s hiring process. Her seminar earlier this month at Sierra Junior College was a “full house,” giving her confidence that return-to-office policies aren’t pushing potential candidates away from state employment — at least not in the capital region.
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Efforts for telework
The battle to reinstate flexible remote-work policies is also still playing out.
State workers watched the Legislature this summer to see if Assembly Bill 1729 was going to pass. The bill, which garnered approval in both chambers, would have encouraged state agencies to enact work-from-home policies; however, Newsom vetoed the bill in mid-September.
“This measure, by limiting departmental flexibility and encouraging telework to be the default work arrangement, takes the state’s telework policy in the wrong direction,” Newsom wrote in his veto message.
SEIU Local 1000, California’s largest state worker union with about 100,000 members, is currently in negotiations. Telework is among its top priorities as it requests the option for workers to be fully remote. The union representing state-employed lawyers — California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers in State Employment — is negotiating with individual agencies.
State workers and unions alike are also watching the gubernatorial race. Newsom is leaving office and it’s possible his return-to-office mandate goes with him. Many unions, including SEIU Local 1000 and Professional Engineers in California Government, have endorsed Democrat Xavier Becerra, who hasn’t pledged to change gears but has acknowledged the role of remote work.
“Telework is an important element of the 21st century workplace,” Becerra previously said. “What should drive state policy on return-to-office is the goal of ensuring the highest performance, productivity and resilience of our state workers.”
Republican Steve Hilton hasn’t established a position on telework, according to previous Sacramento Bee reporting, saying he needed more information.
Those opposed to Newsom’s return-to-office mandate say it could affect recruitment if implemented long term.
“Modern workplaces have embraced the remote work model while Newsom’s mandate has taken the state backwards,” said SEIU Local 1000 President Anica Walls in a statement. “The state should be expanding its reach, not limiting it. Telework gives the state access to a larger pool of talented candidates and helps us retain the experienced workers we already have.”
While Newsom supports his mandate to bolster creativity and foster relationships, Walls points to a California state auditor survey last year that shows a majority of responding departments reported work-from-home policies either increased or didn’t affect productivity.
“Our members are holding out hope that this administration or whoever steps in next will recognize what the data has shown. Telework works and it’s an important part of modernizing state government,” Walls said.
This story was originally published September 30, 2026 at 8:30 AM with the headline “Loud protests, few resignations: CA state workers stay put despite RTO mandate.”
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