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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott took about three months to reverse his 2025 ban on telecommuting for state employees. But Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose recall mandate is effective July 1, shows no signs of backing down.
It’s a position that has upset — and at times confused — some state officials, who are calling on the governor to repeal the four-day-a-week policy while they work out new labor agreements.
Service Employees International Union Local 1000, California’s largest state workers’ union, says telecommuting saves taxpayers and employees money, cuts traffic and cuts emissions — all without affecting productivity. That too expressed his support behind the bill it would give government agencies more power to shape their hybrid work policies.
Newsom’s general policy appears to be an outlier among other blue states with robust public employee unions: Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon and Washington state still accept telecommuting to some extent. It also differs from Texas, a Republican-led state that Newsom contrasts with California.
Abbott banned telecommuting for Texas state employees last year, but after an interagency study found that telecommuting did not hinder productivity and helped reduce turnover, Abbott backed off the move.
Newsom, meanwhile, told reporters during the state budget presentation in May that he was “sympathetic to change” but that being back in office helps build a sense of community. The governor also argued that in-person work promotes cooperation and accountability.
The governor’s commitment to personal work baffled Steve Mavilio, a Democratic political consultant who has worked with public employee unions on pension issues. For Newsom, a Democratic politician who likely hopes to run for president, “it’s political abuse to appear anti-labor,” Mavilio said.
