California Assembly Democrats and Republicans voted on May 14 to ask the state auditor to review Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mandate ordering state workers to return to the office.
All 13 members of the Assembly’s Joint Legislative Audit Committee voted in favor of the study, asking the auditor to review the legality, rationale, cost, and timing associated with the mandate.
Mr. Newsom issued the “return-to-the-office” mandate last month, ordering the state’s 74,000 employees to work in person at least three days a week beginning June 17.
Assemblyman Josh Hoover proposed the audit, saying the mandate was financially and environmentally costly.
Mr. Hoover also urged the governor to reconsider the mandate, at least until the results of the audit are published.
Mr. Newsom’s office did not return a request for comment by press time.
Telework policies have eliminated nearly 400,000 metric tons of carbon emissions, reduced traffic congestion, and saved workers hundreds of dollars per month in vehicle expenses, according to Mr. Hoover.
He also estimated that the state’s work-from-home program adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the footprint of state office space, which costs about $600 million per year in rent.
In a letter to Mr. Newsom’s cabinet secretaries announcing the mandate in April, the governor’s Chief Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary Ann Patterson said about half of state workers telework or work from home some days during the workweek.
The state is “in a different place today as a society and as state agencies serving the public,” Ms. Patterson wrote.
The governor also believes in-person work enhances collaboration, cohesion, and communication, she said.
The directive allows hybrid working conditions allowing staff to continue working from home two days a week. Employees requesting more days than that would be considered on a case-by-case basis, according to the letter.
