EXHIBIT 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                                                      Contact: Dirk A. Sodestrom
                                                         Telephone: 925/930-5300
                                                  e-mail: dsodestrom@westaff.com


              WESTAFF NAMES TOM D. SEIP AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

     WALNUT CREEK, Calif., Tuesday, May 1, 2001 -- Westaff, Inc. (NASDAQ:
WSTF), a leading provider of essential staffing services, today announced
the appointment of Tom Decker Seip to the position of President and Chief
Executive Officer and Director effective May 1, 2001. W. Robert Stover will
remain as the Chairman of the Board of Directors.

     Stover commented, "After fifty years of leading Westaff, I am extremely
pleased to turn the reins of the company over to a mature, experienced
executive. Tom Seip has been involved in more than twenty years of providing
leadership, building sales programs and overseeing financial management of a
public company. In him, I see our company's best days ahead of us."

     Prior to joining the company, Mr. Seip was employed by Charles Schwab &
Co. from January 1983 to June 1998 in various capacities, serving most
recently as Chief Executive Officer of Charles Schwab Investment Management,
Inc., the company's mutual fund subsidiary, and was a member of the Charles
Schwab Management Committee from July 1992 to June 1998. Mr. Seip was a Vice
President and Partner at Korn/Ferry International from 1977 to 1982. He began
his career as an Executive Recruiter at Merrill Lynch & Co. Since January
1998, Mr. Seip has been a private investor with a focus on early stage
companies in the financial services sector.

     "I am delighted to have the opportunity to return to the business of
human capital," said Mr. Seip. "Westaff is a company with a wonderful past
and an even brighter future. I am honored to be chosen by Bob Stover to help
chart the course for the company's future."

     Westaff provides essential staffing services to and employment
opportunities at competitive businesses in global markets. Westaff annually
employs approximately 270,000 people worldwide and services approximately
25,000 clients from more than 350 offices located throughout the U.S., and
also in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Denmark and
Mexico and achieved fiscal 2000 system revenues of over $700 million. For
more information, please visit our website at WWW.WESTAFF.COM.



     THIS PRESS RELEASE CONTAINS FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS REGARDING FUTURE
EVENTS AND FUTURE PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPANY THAT INVOLVE A NUMBER OF RISKS
AND UNCERTAINTIES THAT COULD CAUSE ACTUAL RESULTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY. WE
REFER YOU TO DOCUMENTS THAT THE COMPANY FILES FROM TIME TO TIME WITH THE
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, SUCH AS FORM 10-K, FORM 10-Q AND FORM 8-K
REPORTS, WHICH CONTAIN A DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN FACTORS THAT COULD CAUSE
ACTUAL RESULTS TO DIFFER FROM CURRENT EXPECTATIONS AND THE FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS IN THIS PRESS RELEASE.

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