California Delays Four-Day Return-to-Office Mandate Until 2026 After Union Concessions
The delay came after unions traded deferred raises for unpaid leave offsets to address a $12 billion budget gap.
Overview
- CalHR finalized labor agreements with SEIU Local 1000 and other unions to postpone the four-day weekly office requirement until July 2026.
- SEIU Local 1000 agreed to offset a 3 percent pay increase with five additional hours of unpaid leave each month.
- Professional engineers and administrative law judges accepted delayed salary hikes to secure one-year reprieves from the policy.
- The negotiations used Gov. Newsom’s order as leverage to help close a projected $12 billion deficit despite the absence of a statewide cost analysis.
- A small group of state scientists who refused to renegotiate remain subject to the original four-day mandate set for July 1, 2025.