Local 1000 moves pay cut battle to federal court,
September hearing in state court cancelled

Legal wrangling between the governor and controller over cutting state employees’ pay has been moved to federal court.

SEIU Local 1000 joined state Controller John Chiang and several other state employee unions late Thursday in a legal filing that moves the case to the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of California.  The legal maneuver by Local 1000, Chiang and the unions means the scheduled September 12 hearing in state Superior Court is canceled.

“The effect of the governor’s executive order is to force the controller into wholesale and widespread violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA),” said Paul Harris, Local 1000 chief counsel.

The FSLA protects employees from a wide range of wage abuses, including forcing employees to work overtime but paying them less than their normal wage.  This latest legal filing alleges that the governor’s order will force Chiang to violate overtime and wage provisions of the FSLA and that these violations will subject the state to treble damages and penalties.

On July 31, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed an executive order unilaterally cutting up to 200,000 state employees’ salaries to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour.  Schwarzenegger said that employees will be paid their full salaries retroactive to August 1, once a state budget is passed.

Chiang has said repeatedly that the governor’s order is unenforceable, and Local 1000 has filed a series of legal actions and led scores of protests by state workers throughout the state.