In response to Governor Schwarzenegger’s request today for state
agencies to cut the pay of state workers to the federal minimum wage until a budget is
passed, California State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed said that CSU employees
will continue to receive their regular paychecks while the university seeks ways to
cooperate with the state to minimize the impact on the state general fund. While CSU is
not under direct executive authority and subject to the requirement, Governor
Schwarzenegger has requested that CSU and a number of other state entities assist in the
effort.
“We are working to ensure that CSU employees will receive their regular paychecks and
can expect their normal compensation until a new budget is signed,” said Reed. “At the
same time, we are looking at paying compensation with alternative revenue sources other
than the state general fund in an effort to cooperate with the Governor and the legislature
in this challenging budget environment.”
Gov. Schwarzenegger has announced his intent to issue an order to cut the pay of about
200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour until a budget is
signed in an effort to avert a cash crisis. The budget deadline was July 1, and without a
signed budget soon, the state has indicated it may run out of cash and be unable to borrow
the billions of dollars needed to meet the state’s financial commitments.
The Governor has also called for a hiring freeze of all non-critical functions. For the
CSU, this will mean “we are going to be prudent in our hiring, but the CSU needs to be
prepared to serve the record number of students that will be enrolling on campuses for the
fall semester beginning in August. To be responsive, the CSU will need to hire faculty
and staff to help meet the needs of those students,” said Reed.
In addition to the CSU, the Governor has requested that other state entities including the
University of California, California Community Colleges, the California Public Utilities
Commission, constitutional officers, and legislative and judicial branches, assist with
similar efforts to help preserve the state’s cash supply during the budget impasse.