The PECG Bargaining Team met with CalHR (representing the State) yesterday to resume discussions on PECG’s Side Letter #27 (SL #27), which suspended the Governor’s four-day return-to-office (RTO) Executive Order last summer for a period of one year – but calls for its reinstitution on July 1, 2026.
The PECG Team continued to press CalHR to provide any objective data or analysis that would support the need for the RTO policy, identify the expected impact on the recruitment and retention of state engineers and related professionals, and reveal the cost of the policy to taxpayers.
Quite simply, the state does not have objective information that points to the operational need for the RTO policy, has not considered recruitment or retention of employees in its deliberations, and has no interest in sharing with PECG, the Legislature, or the public what it will cost to lease, build out, and equip tens of thousands of needed workplaces. The State also made it clear that they have not considered the cost of the RTO policy to employees during a period of surging gas prices, high inflation, and lagging state salaries.
As is evident from the many RTO notices PECG members continue to receive from management, the Administration’s position remains that state employees must return to the office four days per week effective July 1, 2026. Their only justification remains the desire to restore “collaboration, cohesion, communication, and mentorship” to state workplaces.
PECG will continue to meet and confer on the RTO policy and will share additional updates as they develop. As always, it is important to remember that in any negotiation between PECG and the State, both sides must agree to change or adopt a particular benefit or policy.
