Local businesses near the state Capitol in Sacramento say they’re already seeing change as state workers prepare to come into the office more often. That’s happening after a union representing about 14,000 state employees negotiated a delay this week on the return-to-office policy for their workers. But for most state employees, the mandate still kicks in next week.
Governor Gavin Newsom is requiring most state employees to return to the office four days a week starting July 1. For downtown Sacramento and other downtowns across California, this will increase foot traffic and spending.
Sacramento City Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum represents the city’s core. He says more in-person work helps local businesses, but he questions the top-down approach from the state.
“The key to a successful city is not going to be conscription. We're not going to force people to be here because of the conditions of employment. The goal here is to be desirable where folks come together in person because there's something in it for them,” Pluckebaum said.
Pluckebaum also expressed skepticism about the logic behind the return-to-office policy.
“Most of the meetings I'm in function pretty well remotely,” he said. “And the idea of getting folks to drive to downtown to then jump on the video conferences with each other is unkind.”
Skylie Klose works as a barista at Café Xocolatl, near the state Capitol. She says many customers time their visits around their hybrid work schedules.
“Most of my regulars come in around like two days in office and then three days remote,” Klose said.
Klose says many frequenters of the cafe are workers tied to state agencies coming for lunch meetings.
“Almost all of my regulars and a lot of my customer base that comes in is going to be all state workers,” she said.
Klose says business at the cafe she works for is steady, but not every downtown business is seeing a bounce back.
“I've had a lot of them even come in and make jokes or give us a little heads up that we're going to be seeing a lot more people in the office,” Klose said. “Sometimes they'll come in together, sometimes they’ll come in alone.”
A protest against Newsom’s return to the office mandate Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in front of the California Department of Human Resources in downtown Sacramento.Megan Myscofski/CapRadioThe statewide requirements may still evolve for unions if they push back against the mandate. Earlier this week, The Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG) secured a tentative agreement to delay the four-day-in-office requirement until July 2026.
This comes after the PECG union sued the Governor’s Office and CalHR, alleging they had violated state labor laws.
Ted Toppin of PECG called the rollback for the engineer union a “win-win” that still allows the state to cut office costs and reduce emissions. He thinks this could possibly lead to more pushback from other bargaining groups.
“I would not be terribly surprised if it were a model for other bargaining units. They too have expressed their concerns about the return-to-office order,” Toppin said.
Toppin says the July 2026 return date is a placeholder, he hopes the state will suspend the entire order by next year.
“The state benefits from reduced emissions, reduced congestion, reduced office costs, and PECG members get to do their jobs with some semblance of work-life balance,” Toppin said.
Laura Fitzgerald contributed reporting to this story.
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