On June 10, 2026 SEIU Local 1000 held a meet and confer with the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) regarding the Return-to-Office mandate effective July 1, 2026. The team was able to confirm exemptions for medical or Reasonable Accommodations as well as if an employee address was 50 miles or more from their worksite and had a mutually agreeable telework policy in place as of March 2025. HCAI confirmed they will also consider other requests on a case-by-case basis, and that management would have discretion to consider request to flex remote days or work remote on a case-by-case basis depending on individual circumstances.
The team was also able to clarify:
- Field days for field staff count as in office days, no work groups are exempt based on the nature of the work they do.
- HCAI is not tracking or measuring the impact of RTO on collaboration, cohesion, or team building, and that they would not be able to revert back if it was determined RTO had a negative impact on the department, productivity, staffing, or morale.
- There are no department wide exemptions for work groups as a whole, but individuals on a case-by-case basis.
- Employees with pending reasonable accommodation requests will generally remain on their current telework arrangements until the interactive process is completed.
- There is flexibility and discretion for management to consider request for temporary remote days, switching days etc, based on operational needs, schedule adjustments, illness-related telework, and other situations on a case-by-case basis.
- HCAI does not plan to evaluate the impact of the Executive Order on collaboration, team building, office culture, etc. Nor does HCAI have authority to make changes if it is determined the EO has had a negative impact on the department, employee satisfaction, morale or staffing recruiting and retention
- HCAI is still finalizing office space assignments, workstation availability, logistics, and communication plans for employees. Items such as alternative workweek schedules, part-time employees, parking details in Los Angeles, health and safety protocols, accommodation request volumes, and evaluation metrics related to the Executive Order require follow-up vias. Those are expected in the coming weeks. HCAI acknowledged many details remain under development and committed to providing additional information as it becomes available.
However, HCAI confirmed they intend to move forward with 4 days in office, per the Governor’s mandate.
In response to the RTO mandate and what is happening at the bargaining table, SEIU Local 1000 is planning a Holding the Line Rally at the Capitol to make our voices heard. Please join us on July 1 as we continue fighting for Telework that Works and the contract state workers deserve.