Here’s how five large California state departments are responding to the end of mask mandates
The largest departments in California state government aren’t rushing to return employees to offices after an indoor mask mandate expired Tuesday, representatives of the departments said.
The Department of Motor Vehicles, the Employment Development Department, Caltrans, the Franchise Tax Board and California Highway Patrol will follow state and local mandates and continue monitoring the situation, said spokespeople for the departments.
The departments are five of the largest, with sizable groups of telework-eligible employees. Together they employ about 60,000 of California’s roughly 230,000 workers.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration ordered in December that masks be worn indoors, citing a COVID-19 surge driven by the omicron variant. The administration allowed the statewide order to expire Tuesday, and Sacramento County followed suit. Newsom’s administration has said the changes would apply to state offices.
State departments have been adjusting return-to-office plans throughout the pandemic, pushing back return dates for reasons including infection surges and delays launching testing programs.
Newsom’s administration requires unvaccinated employees and those who decline to share their vaccine status to test regularly for COVID-19. Departments provide the tests. Some departments also offer tests for vaccinated employees.
Some departments, including the Franchise Tax Board, have told employees they eventually will require everyone to spend half their work hours in the office. Others, especially smaller departments, have told employees that full-time remote work will remain a permanent option.
The Franchise Tax Board hasn’t changed its return-to-office plan based on the lifting of mask mandates, and hasn’t set an estimated return date, spokesman Daniel Tahara said in an email.
The department offers tests for vaccinated as well as unvaccinated employees.
Department of Motor Vehicles employees are eligible for telework based on “workload, duties and requirements,” and those who are eligible for telework will continue to work remotely, spokeswoman Anita Gore said in an email.
The DMV tests about 2,000 employees per week who haven’t verified they’re vaccinated, Gore said in the email. Vaccinated employees can get tested if tests are available, she said.
Caltrans employees who are eligible for telework may continue to telework, spokesman Matt Rocco said in an email. The department hasn’t yet finished a permanent telework plan, Rocco said in the email.
The department tests about 1,900 unvaccinated employees each week and vaccinated employees may request tests, Rocco said.
The California Highway Patrol is still using emergency telework agreements for non-uniformed employees who are telework-eligible, spokeswoman Fran Clader said in an email.
“While it is currently difficult to put a percentage on the amount of work time CHP plans to require office employees to be in the office, many headquarters staff will be allowed to telework full-time and some employees will be allowed to telework part-time,” Clader said in the email.
She said the department has a testing program up and running for unvaccinated employees and that tests are available for vaccinated employees as well.
The Employment Development Department has made no changes based on the lifting of the mask mandate. The department’s return-to-office plans vary by location, according to an email from a spokesperson who declined to be identified.
This story was originally published February 16, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Here’s how five large California state departments are responding to the end of mask mandates."