Schwarzenegger seeks court injunction against Chiang
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The court battle over the size of state worker paychecks continues.
The Schwarzenegger administration submitted a court petition Tuesday in Sacramento County Superior Court seeking an injunction to force state Controller John Chiang to slash the wages of roughly 200,000 state workers.
Schwarzenegger has ordered the wages of state employees cut to $7.25 an hour until a budget is signed. A state appeals court agreed that the governor had the authority to do so last week, but Chiang, a Democrat, has continued to fight the directive.
In the filing, the Schwarzenegger administration argues that “judicial relief is urgently needed” because the state’s payroll system must be adjusted before July 22 to change the size of paychecks in the July pay period.
“Unless restrained prior to this cut-off date, [Chiang] will unlawfully issue full salaries to state employees,” said the filing, made by Department of Personnel Administration Director Debbie Endsley.
The budget year began Thursday. Once a budget is signed, workers would be entitled to their full back pay.
Download the court filing here.
-- Shane Goldmacher in Sacramento