chanel
Silver Member
SACRAMENTO, Calif. Some California state workers are preparing to tap into their savings while others already are cutting expenses as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's minimum wage order moved one step closer to reality.
On Friday, the Schwarzenegger administration won an appellate court ruling saying it has the authority to impose the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour on more than 200,000 state workers as California wrestles with its latest budget crisis. It was not immediately clear if the state controller, who cuts state paychecks on a decades-old payroll system, will comply. The office says its computers are unable to make the change until an upgrade is completed in two years.
The loss of wages even temporarily for such a large work force would deal an especially harsh blow to the capital region, where one out of 10 workers is a state government employee.
A cut to a minimum wage would mean state workers would make the equivalent of $15,000 a year. The average state worker makes $65,000 annually, according to the state Department of Personnel Administration.
The Associated Press: Calif. state workers brace for minimum wage
Wow. If this goes through, I predict states across the country will follow suit. Comments?