Leave It to California

The SHRM annual conference took place this year in San Deigo, California. The tag line in the advertisements leading up to the event was something to the effect of "In the evolution of HR, California leads the way," highlighting the signifcance of the site chosen for the conference.

Well, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest efforts to reign in government spending and balance the state's budget is certainly having an impact on HR. Unfortunately, state employees are being caught in the crossfire. Scharzenegger wants to reduce the pay of over 200,000 state government employees to $7.25/hour (federal minimum wage) until California's legislature reaches an agreement on the state's budget. The state controller has refused to honor the governor's request and it's all ended up in court.

It's a very bizarre scenario, made even more bizarre by the fact that Gov. Schwarzenegger is proposing a cut to the federal minimum wage ($7.25/hr.), which is lower than California's minimum wage ($8/hr.), and some 30,000 governement employees that are exempt from minimum wage laws (i.e. doctors, lawyers, etc.) would not be paid at all.

Sounds like political games on both sides of the fence. The Republican governor is forcing the hand of the Democrat-controlled State Legislature, and the state controller (also a Democrat) is pushing back. And state employees are caught in the middle, wondering how it will all end up.