Would Schwarzeneggers minimum-wage order affect overtime pay?
Overtime is expected to be restricted if pay is cut to the minimum. The state Supreme Court, in its 2003 ruling, found that employees who earn overtime pay also must be paid their full wages during that pay period. >Does the minimum-wage order exclude any state workers? Schwarzenegger’s order exempts 37,000 employees in six unions that recently reached tentative agreement on new labor contracts. The unions represent doctors, Highway Patrol officers, firefighters, and psychiatric technicians, equipment operators, and health and social service professionals. The tentative contracts for those unions would lower retirement benefits for new hires and increase what members pay into their pensions. To avoid minimum wage, however, two-thirds of the Senate and the Assembly would have to pass legislation appropriating money specifically for that payroll. Schwarzenegger’s order also would not affect workers in agencies with continuous appropriations, such as CalPERS, the state’s pension system. >
