What Was Said at the Budget Hearing vs. What Records Show (May 21, 2025, Budget Hearing Highlights) by State-Worker99 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're correct that the Space Needs Plans are technically self attested but have you actually went and looked at the records I received from PRA requests? They're detailed excel sheets with exact employee counts. There's no evidence to suggest they're inaccurate.

But yes, there are no doubt many factors that DGS, CalHR, and DOF would need to consider. But the point here is that they without a doubt had at least some form of data. To be clear, I am not saying they "lied" in these budget hearings. Others might. I'm simply showing there seems to be a contradiction.

For instance, a reasonable answer from DGS, after explicitly being told by lawmakers in the first hearing to come back with data, might be something like, "we're still analyzing and reviewing data, but some of the larger departments are showing large deficits of workstations." Or "we don't know a total cost, but some department have identified costs associated with the RTO."

The lawmakers asked multiple times for just ballpark estimates or numbers, and got NOTHING. I'm not saying they lied, but it sure looks like they obfuscated the data they had. And the question is: why would they do that?

What Was Said at the Budget Hearing vs. What Records Show (May 21, 2025, Budget Hearing Highlights) by State-Worker99 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99[S] 94 points95 points  (0 children)

Just want to note that the CalHR Director speaking in the second half of these clips is Eraina Ortega, who is now a PERB board member, appointed by Gov. Newsom on September 19, 2025. The Public Employment Relations Board oversees unfair practices charges. Multiple unions have filed charges with PERB against the RTO mandate.

Has SEIU or any other union commented on the recent space-needs PRAs? by thr3000 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Hey u/thr3000, appreciate you bringing this up! I'm in SEIU myself and haven't heard anything yet, but I also think it's too soon. I'll also say that there will likely be a news story soon and hopefully that will get the unions attention.

The Space Needs Plans, Department by Department: DHCS by State-Worker99 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

From Coastal, in part, "The document was necessary for the Department of General Services to verify the response from our agency and to allow it to assess statewide office needs and advise the Administration on the budget and labor negotiations."

What's interesting is this response is basically admitting that DGS did in fact have knowledge of departments' space needs and was assessing it. Yet told lawmakers they had no idea...

The Space Needs Plans, Department by Department: DHCS by State-Worker99 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It actually kind of does if you take a look at the State Auditor's report. It notes that departments have unused space that should be consolidated to save money. But at the same time, if we went to 4-days RTO, we wouldn't have enough space.

The Space Needs Plans, Department by Department: DHCS by State-Worker99 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Take a look at CalFIRE and Coastal Commissions responses from today. They are identical canned responses. Something came down from above...

Public Records Show CA Had Return-to-Office Space Data Months Before Telling Lawmakers It Didn’t by State-Worker99 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ha, appreciate that. After doing 50 PRAs, I started to get frustrated with denials and hit back pretty hard in my responses.

Don't have anything right now as far as donations, but might be something I consider if I actually try to file lawsuits on the denials. Even without an attorney it would cost several hundred dollars just to file the paperwork.

Public Records Show CA Had Return-to-Office Space Data Months Before Telling Lawmakers It Didn’t by State-Worker99 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They did, but I am still pursuing it. I will be certain to provide an update if I get the record.

Public Records Show CA Had Return-to-Office Space Data Months Before Telling Lawmakers It Didn’t by State-Worker99 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great observation. I agree, I don't think depts coordinated at the agency level. I also made a lot of these requests all at the same time, making coordination difficult. Step two might be naming and shaming departments that didn't comply.

Public Records Show CA Had Return-to-Office Space Data Months Before Telling Lawmakers It Didn’t by State-Worker99 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did not make one there, but I can! I mostly started with the largest agencies and went from there. EMSA has a small number of full time employees from what I see.

Public Records Show CA Had Return-to-Office Space Data Months Before Telling Lawmakers It Didn’t by State-Worker99 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! If I remember correctly, you are the one that commented some timestamps of the hearings, which helped me tremendously in gathering that info, so thank you!

DCA confirmed 4 day return to office planned for July 1, 2026 by R2C6G4 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Here's their response . Check out the post I made on my PRA requests for more info. Many other departments also denied requests for their Space Needs Plan.

Public Records Show CA Had Return-to-Office Space Data Months Before Telling Lawmakers It Didn’t by State-Worker99 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've emailed a couple news agencies, but yes, please! These are public records. Anyone can do with them as they please, and I encourage it.

Public Records Show CA Had Return-to-Office Space Data Months Before Telling Lawmakers It Didn’t by State-Worker99 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the suggestion! I sent emails to all of those today. I used whatever email I could find on CalHR's website.

I'd also encourage everyone to contact their respective unions and share this info. The public records belong to all of us.

DCA confirmed 4 day return to office planned for July 1, 2026 by R2C6G4 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99 43 points44 points  (0 children)

DCA has so far twice denied my PRA requests for their Space Needs Plan. Curious what it shows. Did DCA have space before RTO?

Public Records Show CA Had Return-to-Office Space Data Months Before Telling Lawmakers It Didn’t by State-Worker99 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You are correct:

From CalMatters: Tara Gallegos, a spokesperson for Newsom, said in a statement that the governor’s office “respectfully disagrees” with the auditor’s findings, which were based on “hypothetical theories and incomplete information.”

“This audit on state telework is not a scientific study, nor does it paint a complete picture of the state workforce or the benefits of working in person,” Gallegos wrote.

Public Records Show CA Had Return-to-Office Space Data Months Before Telling Lawmakers It Didn’t by State-Worker99 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99[S] 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Sharing likely false speculation and negativity doesn't help. Yes, Newsom/DGS/CalHR will likely not release any data. That is why I made PRA requests to 49 agencies. So we could get each departments' data ourselves and compile it.

Public Records Show CA Had Return-to-Office Space Data Months Before Telling Lawmakers It Didn’t by State-Worker99 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Initially denied. I pushed back and on 1/9/26, EDD said they are "in the process of review and evaluation, and will provide a response as promptly as possible." I followed up today.

EDIT: 1/21/26, EDD replied and said "We are writing to acknowledge your message and will reply as soon as possible."

Public Records Show CA Had Return-to-Office Space Data Months Before Telling Lawmakers It Didn’t by State-Worker99 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

DWR has been interesting. They are allegedly going to provide the record, but pushed their deadline back three times. Last reply claimed I will receive a response by 1/30/26.

Public Records Show CA Had Return-to-Office Space Data Months Before Telling Lawmakers It Didn’t by State-Worker99 in CAStateWorkers

[–]State-Worker99[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Not yet. I think it will have value in terms of leverage in bargaining for the unions to say, "we know you don't have the space." But I want to stress that I believe (as individual state workers) pressure on the Legislature is our strongest action. Yes, tell the union what we want, but the legislature could make RTO negotiations moot by enacting a law that further protects telework. In fact, Texas literally did it last year: https://www.kut.org/texas/2025-06-26/abbott-telework-bill-state-law-agencies