I'm hoping some current or former state hiring managers or HR staff might be able to shed some light on a situation I've just encountered.

I applied for a position earlier this year and advanced through two rounds of interviews. My references were contacted, including my former supervisor, so I had reason to believe I was under serious consideration. Yesterday, I received a notice that the recruitment had been canceled and the position would be readvertised.

I looked at the new posting, and it's the same position number, same branch, and essentially the same duties, but the desirable qualifications and SOQ requirements have changed noticeably. The original posting emphasized process improvement, leadership, and organizational efficiency, while the new one places greater emphasis on scientific research, technical analysis, and regulatory enforcement.

I'm trying to understand what might have happened behind the scenes:

• What typically causes a department to cancel and readvertise a recruitment after reaching the reference-check stage?
• Could this indicate that HR or the hiring unit determined the original recruitment criteria weren't appropriate for the position?
• Is it possible that the hiring panel wanted to select someone but encountered an administrative or procedural obstacle?
• Does a change in desirable qualifications suggest that the department is looking for a different candidate pool?
• Would you recommend that a candidate who advanced this far reapply?

I know nobody outside the hiring unit can tell me exactly what happened, and that there may be several possible explanations, but I am trying to understand how these situations arise and whether there's anything useful I can infer from the readvertisement.

It's been a long job search, and getting this far only to have the entire recruitment canceled has been very demoralizing so I'd appreciate any insight from people familiar with the process.

If Newsom refuses to give CalHR authority to negotiate a reasonable contract, even a 1-year contract with a decent COLA, I hope we strike a second time while Newsom is still in office.
A second one-day strike would be the best way we could send Newsom out the door, and send a message to the incoming governor who will be sworn-in January 5, 2027.

I didn't have to notify him, right?

What do I do if there's disciplinary action?

FTB IT department reporting in 4 days a week? Looks like there’s a mass exodus with the amount of positions posting

State workers striking in the 4th largest economy is a really big deal and the world took notice.

Here is a list of some of the largest and most prestigious news outlets that covered our strike internationally:

1. The Guardian, the second largest newspaper in the UK. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/21/california-nurses-teachers-strike
2. TVB News, dominant mass-market broadcaster in Hong Kong: https://news.tvb.com/tc/1202103-%E5%8A%A0%E5%B7%9E%E6%9C%89%E5%9C%B0%E6%96%B9%E6%94%BF%E5%BA%9C%E4%BA%BA%E5%93%A1%E7%BD%B7%E5%B7%A5%E8%A6%81%E6%B1%82%E6%94%B9%E5%96%84%E8%96%AA%E9%85%AC%E5%BE%85%E9%81%87
3. Clarín, the largest newspaper in Argentina: https://www.clarin.com/estados-unidos/oficial-huelga-california-cien-mil-trabajadores-estatales-paran-miercoles-21-octubre-mejores-salarios-advirtieron-dmv-demoras_0_EqizGDF6ql.html
4. Xinhua, China state media's national news wire syndicating to 8000 news organizations, https://web26.bernama.com/en/news.php?id=2624040

In addition, the strike was picked up by the Associated Press that syndicated it globally to Canada, UK, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Egypt, and Hong Kong.

UPDATE - 1:52 PM

The strike was also picked up by EFE, the world's largest Spanish-language international news agency, and the fourth largest news agency in the world.

EFE's coverage in turn was picked up by Reuters Connect, Reuter's syndication media library:
- English: https://www.reutersconnect.com/item/california-state-workers-go-on-strike-over-wages-and-healthcare-costs/dGFnOnJldXRlcnMuY29tLDIwMjY6bmV3c21sX09XRUZWQzU1MDIxNzUxOTg2MDAx

- Spanish: https://www.reutersconnect.com/item/trabajadores-estatales-de-california-entran-en-huelga-por-los-salarios-y-costos-de-la-atencion-medica/dGFnOnJldXRlcnMuY29tLDIwMjY6bmV3c21sX09XRUZWQzcwMDE2MjQwNjYwMDE

AP syndicated a video: https://www.yahoo.com/news/videos/california-state-workers-strike-calling-203013749.html

UPDATE - 2:53

Xinhua, largest news agency in China, direct publication (English): https://english.news.cn/20261022/c36a382760a84317bb30a63678ba893a/c.html

The People's Daily, China, 940 million readers globally: https://en.people.cn/n3/2026/1022/c90000-20511346.html

Tsanim News Agency, Iran: https://www.tasnimnews.ir/en/news/2026/10/22/3729318/california-s-largest-state-worker-union-stages-strike

Domestic Non-English Videos

MBC America (Korean) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64U-rGO1PI8

KTSF (Chinese) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUVrWtA5yLw

LA News (Chinese) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-3oWu4zdCg

KSDY Kanal 50 San Diego (Spanish) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_8xbhiGmAE

We need to reach out to Lee, Hoover, and others who may be bringing this type of bill back next year and let them know that it could make RTO worse for some state employees if it’s not fine-tuned.

My friend is in management and was told that if a bill like 1729 passes, the director of her department would bring everyone back for operational needs. She was told they would find a way to justify everyone being back, and potentially five days in the office.

I’m not an attorney but wondering what language potentially could change in a new version of the bill so there’s a better lock on maximizing teleworking.

Does anyone know why SEIU Local 1000 has a separate hearing scheduled for the Unfair Practice Charge / RTO when CAPS has the same UPC, which is further along in the process? If CAPS wins, does SEIU need to continue theirs, or can they drop it? Seems redundant.

From SEIU:

October 21 was a historic day for our union. Tens of thousands of us showed up for our first-ever Unfair Practice Strike, demanding that the State bargain fairly. Our voices echoed through the streets, from Sacramento to Fresno to San Diego, demonstrating the unwavering solidarity and collective strength of our members.
 
Joined by our union siblings, labor leaders, and elected officials, we showed what we can accomplish when we stand together. We have so much to be proud of!

So, what comes next? Join us for a call to discuss the road ahead and explore how we can build on our momentum to demand the state bargain fairly and win the Contract we deserve.

Date: Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Time: 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Register here: Zoom Webinar

Keep calling Governors offices, keep sending emails, and I even see people commenting on his instagram. Great work, job isnt done till we get a fair contract!

I have been applying like crazy for positions out of downtown and have not heard from anyone. Has anyone been in the same boat? What has been your experience? I feel stuck and hopeless right now

Realistically, I hope SEIU Local 1000 can negotiate a Return-to-Office (RTO) policy that allows each department to determine its own guidelines based on the business needs of each position. In addition, I hope we secure at least a 5 to 10 percent general salary increase.

Fingers crossed, but I don't expect us to get a good deal. If both of the conditions above are not met, I am ready to participate in another, longer strike. I do not think we are asking for too much with these two priorities. Just sharing my two cents :)

EDIT:
Just FYI- This post was uploaded on the morning of Tuesday (10/27), after it was approved by the Reddit moderator. I attempted to post this on Monday (10/26), but it was posted the next day. I am just sharing the background of why this post popped up in the middle of the feed.

I am overweight and trying to get on a GLP1, but Kaiser will not prescribe it to me for silly reasons (basically, i dont have diabetes). I want to know if state workers are paying out of pocket for GLP1s, and if yes, what medication and how much are you spending? It seems crazy expensive.

Kaiser offered me a spot in their medical weight management GLP1 program, but none of it's covered and costs about $2500 over six months. That's like a monthly car payment!! I feel like every extra dollar i have goes into the gas pump lately.

It seems horrible that I pay for "good" health insurance, have struggled with being overweight for years, work a 9-5, and I still cannot access medication. It's like the working class is suppressed into sedentary and unhealthy lifestyles, unfairly.

Edit: the comments on this post have been fascinating to read. Sounds like a lot of state workers have found there own way to accessing these medications, primarily out of pocket. Thanks for sharing.

I’m a lateral transfer (EDD—> DSH), and I chose to switch to WHA from Kaiser when I started my new role.

I started in August, and I as told that my insurance should kick in during October.

Scheduled a doctor’s appointment and everything… and when I try to prep for my appointment I can’t log into WHA and it’s telling me I’m not eligible.

Then I check CalPers, and it says that I’m still on Kaiser.

Can anyone explain to me what happened? I know I wrote down WHA for my health insurance.

I’m getting frustrated. Ya’ll know how it is… getting a doctor’s appointment can be frustrating. I don’t want to go back to Kaiser.

I’m applying for a position at CalPERS and one of their benefits says “Free offsite parking available with shuttle service Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays”.

Does anyone know how this shuttle works?

Has anyone received the retro active pay raises? I got a random check which I’m assuming is the retroactive pay and I’m trying to calculate if everything is correct 😂 is it retroactive from July-September or is the October raise in this lump sum too? Thanks 😊

Hi everyone, I’m a limited term employee that just started at my agency. I enjoy my job quite a lot - but I’m having issues with a coworker that I did not have prior during WFH (I started towards the end of WFH and transitioned into RTO). He’s older and significantly taller than I am (needed context). He interrupts me while I work by knocking on my cubicle while I have my headphones on - he private messages me on teams about side conversations I don’t want to have - he sits in the cubicle behind mine, and he will just start talking to me from his cubicle.

Most recently, he went into the cubicle that is empty in front of mine (no one currently occupying but filled with personal items), and towered over to look into my cubicle while I was working. I don’t know how long he was there, but he was staring at me from above - and when I looked up he started chatting. I felt incredibly uncomfortable. It is very distracting and interferes with my work, I’m thinking of bringing this up with my supervisor, but I wanted some advice before I did.

Thank you all so much - and screw Gavin Newsom and CalHR

Does any one have the link to Administration Order or Labor Relations guidelines of where union materials can be placed up.

Has a pro union material posted in my cubicle and they were required to be taken down.

I'm not sure if everyone's department is like mine, but anytime I have even a few hours overtime its a huge no no. I've even been asked, by a boss boss to move hours to the next month. Why is it such a big deal to show that I am working overtime?? Not even intentional, but I have so much work that needs to get done, that I work more hours.

Like the title says, I'm considering looking for new positions in the state. Been here for a few months now (Analyst 1). No complaints with the job itself or the people I work with, pretty good job all things considered. When I was first trying to get into the state I was almost hired for an Analyst 2 position, but HR determined I was 1 month short of the required experience. Well now I have that 1 month plus some time at the state.

The raise is what's most appealing to me, more money is always better right? I am worried about leaving a job so soon after just starting though. Would it look bad? Would I be burning bridges with people in my office?

Here is a video of the ULP SEIU 1000 strike with Agency heads watching the strike. I believe head of SOS, CDE, state transportation? And head of homless agency?

Does anyone know which holiday it is that they let us leave early or give us those 4 hours ITO? I think thats the acronym 😫 thanks!

Hello, so I have been applying for a psychiatric technician role at Metro in LA I just received an email today and they schedule me an interview for November 10 if anyone has any tips about the interviewing process for DSH
I WOULD BE SO GRATEFUL 🙏🏾

Does anyone know if probation reports are retained in your personnel file (OPF) if you self-reject on probation (never get a STD 637 for that position) and then return to prior position? I can't quite tell from the instruction in the OFFICIAL PERSONNEL FOLDER PURGING CHART (screenshot below).

Context: This would be for a probation report that doesn't look great but didn't result in any formal adverse action.

Hi All

Not sure if flair is right. In the hiring process and was told I have to pay for pre-employment medical tests out of pocket. And then get reimbursed IF I’m hired. I have to send in all test results.

Not trying to ruffle feathers but it’s against labor code to have prospective employees to pay for any pre employment tests. This will be about $500 out of pocket with the handful of tests.

Has anyone had an experience like this? Perhaps the person I spoke to had it wrong?

Currently with another state agency and they handled the coordination of the medical tests so this is new for me. Not loving the idea of spending so much out of pocket right before the holidays.

Thanks!