The Two Tier Problem with RTO
Newsom’s May 2025 executive order creates a two-tier system that undermines financial security for state workers. Exempt remote employees beyond the fifty mile radius face an impossible choice: relocate to Sacramento to access career advancement, which is financially unrealistic for most given current economic conditions, or remain remote but forfeit all paths to promotion.
This restriction extends far beyond career inconvenience. By denying access to higher positions, the policy directly impairs long-term financial security. Remote workers cannot increase retirement contributions to their 401k or 457b accounts, which compounds significantly over decades. Stagnation in a single role for an entire career dooms workers. Most importantly, this executive order reveals how quickly leadership can reshape working conditions unilaterally, creating an inequitable system that affects all of us. It signals that workers’ security, opportunity, and livelihoods can be altered on administrative whim, which undermines trust across the entire workforce.
I would also like to acknowledge my privilege because I am not affected by the four day return to office mandate (for now). I will do my best to support efforts and to advocate for telework rights. My intention to put these words out there because I haven’t seen much discussion on this.