State Workers Push for Telework Options

Here are the morning’s top stories on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026

• Sacramento County is home to California’s largest community of state workers, around 90,000 people. Governor Gavin Newsom says he wants them to come back into the office starting this summer — many still work remotely part time following the pandemic. But state worker unions hope a new bill will protect their ability to telework indefinitely.
• In Humboldt County, low wages are leading to high rates of poverty and greater enrollment in the state food program CalFresh. 
• Along the coast of San Mateo County, elephant seals at Año Nuevo State Park could be experiencing a “small outbreak” of bird flu, according to scientists.

Union-backed bill would require telework options for California state workers

On any given day before the pandemic, hundreds of workers would walk the sidewalks circling the State Capitol in Sacramento on their lunch breaks. But it isn’t as busy in the downtown Capitol corridor as it used to be.

A big part of that is state workers are still working remotely a few days a week. Sacramento County is home to California’s largest concentration of state employees – just under 90,000 workers. Gina Garcia-Smith is one of them. She is a former school teacher and now works as a program consultant for the California Department of Education located in downtown Sacramento. Garcia-Smith said the option to work from home has allowed her more flexibility, especially after becoming a new parent. “I’m able to do my job remotely for three days out of the week, that really has improved my quality of life and the amount of time I’m able to spend with my daughter,” Garcia-Smith said. “I’m not, you know, stuck in traffic. I’m able to be present.”

Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered most state employees to return to the office four days a week starting July 1, 2026, up from a required twice per week. The mandate received pushback from state workers, including Garcia-Smith, who said the ability to telework is a big draw for state jobs. “If we really want to attract and retain quality state workers, it’s really important to be able to provide some incentive because clearly pay is not the incentive that’s being provided,” she said.

Garcia-Smith’s union, SEIU Local 1000 is backing a bill this year that would require state agencies to continue offering telework. Other unions representing state workers also support the measure, including CAPS UAW Local 1115, AFSCME 2620, CASE, and PECG. Democratic Assemblymember Alex Lee of Milpitas authored the legislation. His district encompasses Silicon Valley where private-sector telework is typical. Lee argued state workers should continue to benefit from that same opportunity. “This has allowed for people to move further away from Sacramento in places that are more affordable, close to their family networks, instead of all being concentrated in one area. And this has a lot of great potential benefits for the workers themselves,” Lee said.

A 2025 State Auditor report estimated that continued telework for state employees would save California around $225 million a year in real estate and facility costs. Supporters of remote work argue the state should consider that projected savings especially as it faces a bleak budget outlook.

Far Northern California uses food assistance more than rest of state

Almost a quarter of adults in Humboldt County are enrolled in CalFresh. This puts the county at the 9th highest enrollment in California, up from 19th in 2014.

About 14% of California residents use CalFresh, the state’s version of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. But usage in the far northern portion of the state is much higher, according to a report from the University of California, Davis. In Del Norte County, total participation is 24.8%, in Humboldt County, it’s 22.4%, Siskiyou County is 22.3%, and it’s 20.2% in Trinity County.

The report noted that higher participation in CalFresh often aligns with other indicators of economic insecurity, including poverty and unemployment.

Another analysis from UC Davis, using data from 2014 to 2024, found workers in Humboldt County earn less than those in the rest of California. Median household income in Humboldt County rose about $17,000 over 10 years, adjusted for inflation, while it increased by about $38,000 statewide. That means income grew by about 43% in Humboldt County compared to almost 62% statewide. Despite an unemployment rate typically below the state average, more than 6% of people in Humboldt work full-time, year round and still live in poverty. That share has almost doubled since 2014, while decreasing statewide.

Officials confirm small bird flu ‘outbreak’ in elephant seals at Año Nuevo State Park

Scientists have confirmed that seven weaned northern elephant seal pups at Año Nuevo State Park tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, known as H5N1.

The confirmation, provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory, marks California’s first confirmed detection of the virus in a marine mammal. Researchers estimate that about 30 seals, mostly recently weaned pups, plus one adult male, have died so far. Additional samples are still being processed, and officials say the outbreak appears to have been caught early.

Field teams already monitoring the colony noticed a slight uptick in dead seals late last week and observed animals showing neurological symptoms, including tremors, weakness and seizure-like activity. During a post-mortem exam on one known female weaned pup, veterinarians found signs that the disease moved quickly. “The animal was in excellent nutritional condition,” said Megan Moriarty, a wildlife veterinarian at UC Santa Cruz. “That means she likely died quickly from a disease process that happened rapidly, as opposed to something more chronic.” Moriarty said the seal showed significant damage to the brain and lungs — findings consistent with the neurological symptoms researchers had observed in the seals out in the field.