The California Law on Pay Cuts
2010 was marked not only by budgetary crises in many U.S. states, but also by substantial unemployment rates. These two factors played heavily into the propagation of California's worker pay-cut initiative of the same year as well as the ensuing debate.
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Identification
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In the summer of 2010, California courts handed down a controversial decision. The ruling empowered the governor to cut the salaries of state workers as long as they did not drop below minimum wage levels. This authorization was based on the contingency that the state budget at the time of the decrease was not in place.
Numbers
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The pay cuts were targeted at an estimated 200,000 state employees. The provision brought down their pay to California's recognized minimum wage level: $7.25 per hour.
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Controversy
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Opponents of Governor Schwarzenegger have filed suit against him, citing the initiative ran contrary to the state's payroll legislation. Additionally, these opponents, including the state controller John Chiang, have decried the dilapidated condition of the payroll system itself, arguing it could not sustain the cuts. Chiang and Schwarzenegger engaged in a similar legal struggle two years earlier in 2008.
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