AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Jonah Paul, a California state employee, says he’s lucky if he gets home by 7 p.m. when he takes the train two days a week to his Sacramento office — a lengthy commute that’s about to become more frequent.
He is among thousands of state employees across the U.S. being pushed back to the office this year — a trend in states led by Democrats as well as Republicans. It’s happening in both California and Texas, which together have more than 350,000 public-sector workers.
The roll-back of remote work mirrors the Trump administration’s mandate for federal workers and moves by some of the nation’s largest corporations including Amazon, JP MorganChase and AT&T.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order this week cites concerns about productivity and collaboration. Starting July 1, state workers must be in the office at least four days a week, with exceptions on a case-by-case basis.
“The governor’s executive order kind of blindsided everybody,” said Paul, who is also president of the downtown Sacramento chapter of SEIU Local 1000, the state’s largest public sector union. “People have been really upset.”
There’s some evidence that rigid in-office requirements actually make workers less productive, but Republican governors in Missouri, Ohio and