Old technology stymies Calif. gov's pay-cut order [state's computers "can't restate paychecks"]

MSNBC ^ | 07/03/10 | Cathy Bussewitz

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As the Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger was the technology of the future, feared by humans. As governor, he's being foiled by the technology of the past.

For the second time in two years, Schwarzenegger has ordered most state workers' pay cut to the federal minimum wage because lawmakers missed their deadline to fix the state's $19 billion budget deficit. The Legislature's failure to act has left the state without a spending plan as the new fiscal year begins.

A state appellate court ruled in Schwarzenegger's favor Friday, but the state controller, who issues state paychecks, says he can't comply. One reason given by Controller John Chiang, a Democrat elected in 2006: The state's computer system can't handle the technological challenge of restating paychecks to the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour.

[SES1066]

My very next act if I was Gov. S. would be to fire that guy for lying or gross incompetence.

Sorry no can do ... One reason given by Controller John Chiang, a Democrat elected in 2006: An elected official can only be impeached by the legislature, most of whom are fellow democrats. California is an ice-cold stacked deck in favor of the Democrats, the districts being gerrymandered into non-competition.

[BenKenobi]

If they can raise the pay, they can lower it.

[norton]

The money quote:

"It's not something that you can take lightly and do overnight," said Harrigan...
"You have all the collective bargaining for civil servants and (state universities) that have to be taken into consideration. ... It's very complicated. It would take considerable effort."

So much for "technical difficulties".

[Czar]

Reminds me of an exchange I was privy to between one of our division controllers and a very senior executive. When the executive asked for a report he had requested the prior month, the controller said something like "I'm sorry, sir, but our computer system won't give us that kind of information". [pause in the room--you could here a pin drop]. The executive fixed his cold stare on the controller and said: "I don't ever want to hear that excuse again. The damned system will do whatever the hell we tell it to do."

And it did--the very next month.

[rellimpank]

—check out posts #2 and #33 for part of the problem—

—http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2546825/posts

[grandpa jones]

California still issues paper payroll checks?

[whence911]

Last I knew direct deposit was voluntary. They could make it mandatory like social security. We temporarilly reduced pay and demoted people as part of our employee discipline. The next check the action was reflected on the check if we took action before the 17th of the month. I don’t understand the problem here.

[combat_boots]

Agreed.

It would be possible to simply use 1 person’s paycheck as an example for paying someone minimum wage, and feed in all state employees’ names. You could set up a dedicated database to collect the information for later cross-referencing.

Tedious, detailed, but certainly no major rewrite.

Likewise, you could feed in a rate change to a constant of XYZ dollars to commence on a date certain. Ditto for people being paid from retirement accounts across the board.

While in IT, I don’t do these things for a living, and I, EVEN I, can figure this out easily.

So, yes, the argument is complete and utter BS.