Loyalty Oath

As a new California State University, Chico employee, you will need to sign an oath of allegiance before you begin your employment. This oath is required of all California State employees of U.S. Citizenship [California Constitution, Article XX, Section 3; California Government Code sections 3100-3109.] Because it is mandated by the California Constitution, no alterations or interlineations may be made to the text of the oath. The loyalty oath is included in the required documents that you will complete as a part of the new hire onboarding process with Employment Services. 

Questions have been raised that, by signing the oath, CSU employees might be deemed to have obligated themselves to bear arms, in contravention of any personal religious beliefs they may have. You should know that signing the oath does not carry with it any obligation or requirement that public employees bear arms or otherwise engage in violence. This has been confirmed by both the United States Supreme Court (Girouard v. United States (1946) 328 U.S. 61) and the California Attorney General's Office.

Oath of Allegiance

"I, [NAME], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter."