SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday ordered his administration to lay off thousands of part-time state workers and to work with the state controller to temporarily slash the pay of most full-time employees to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour.
Schwarzenegger administration officials said the move will help give the state enough cash to get by until a state budget is signed. The budget was due July 1 but is still being negotiated by the governor and legislative leaders.
“It is a terrible situation to be in,” Schwarzenegger said after signing an executive order. “I don’t think any governor wants to be in this situation.”
About 10,300 part-time employees will receive pink slips starting Thursday, the governor’s aides said.
Schwarzenegger says a 2003 State Supreme Court decision requires the pay cuts for most of the 200,000 full-time state employees in the absence of a budget. He wants the cuts to take effect immediately; they would show up in paychecks at the end of August.
But State Controller John Chiang sent the governor a letter Thursday saying he would not comply with the order because “it is based on faulty legal and factual premises.”
The governor said he will take the controller to court if necessary, but hopes to resolve the state budget impasse with lawmakers within days, making such a battle unnecessary.
If the governor is successful in cutting the employees’ income, they will receive their full back pay once a budget is signed.
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