July 2, 2010
Governor and Minimum Wage Issues in the News
A defiant Chiang accuses governor of 'political tricks' (7/1/2010)
In a strongly worded rebuke, state Controller John Chiang said Thursday that he would defy Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s order to slash the pay of state workers until "the courts hand down a final resolution."
Chiang, a Democrat, said the pay cuts will "do nothing to solve the budget deficit" because state employees are entitled to their back pay once a budget is in place. “In the absence of the leadership needed to bring the Legislature to an agreement on his budget, the governor again resorts to political tricks," Chiang said in a statement...
LINK - LATimes.com
Schwarzenegger orders minimum wage for state workers (7/1/2010)
The Schwarzenegger administration today ordered State Controller John Chiang to reduce state worker pay for July to the federal minimum allowed by law -- $7.25 an hour for most state workers.
The instructions from the Department of Personnel Administration exclude roughly 37,000 state workers in six bargaining units that recently came to tentative labor agreements with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Some employees, such as doctors and lawyers, would get no pay because federal exempts them from any minimum wage requirement...
LINK - SacBee.com
The State Worker: Will minimum wage hit this month? Unlikely (7/1/2010)
The threat of minimum wage for state workers starting today, the beginning of the 2010-11 fiscal year, has been the Schwarzenegger administration's big stick in recent labor talks.
In 2003, the California Supreme Court said the state can withhold pay to the federal minimum until there's money appropriated for wages. No budget, no dough set aside for payroll...
...But it's unlikely that minimum wage will hit state workers, at least this month...
LINK - SacBee.com (The State Worker)
