Restore Current Pay Periods For State Employees

Joint Technology Committee. The majority of state employees who are paid through the state's payroll system (state employees) are paid based on a monthly pay period and some state employees are paid based on a biweekly pay period. In 2015, in anticipation of the implementation of a new payroll system for state employees, the general assembly enacted a bill to require that all state employees be paid twice a month for pay periods that began on or after July 1, 2017. However, the payroll system that would have paid state employees twice a month was not implemented. The bill repeals the requirement that state employees be paid twice a month and restores the monthly and biweekly pay periods.

In 2015, the general assembly also enacted a one-time loan program that allowed any state employee to apply to the department of personnel for a loan to assist the employee in July 2017, when the transition to the twice a month payroll system would have created a 2-week lag in state employees' pay. It was not necessary for any state employee to use the one-time loan program, and the bill repeals the program.

In 2016, the general assembly enacted a bill to allow the state personnel director to delay the date by which state employees would be paid twice a month after providing notice to state employees and the general assembly. The bill repeals such authority, as the state personnel director no longer intends to implement a twice a month payroll system.

The bill also makes necessary conforming amendments to allow the state's payroll system to pay employees on either a monthly or biweekly basis.

In addition, current law specifies that state employee salaries that are paid on a monthly basis are paid on the last working day of the month; except that the salary for the month of June is paid on the first working day of July (pay-day shift). The bill codifies current practice by specifying that the pay-day shift does not apply to institutions of higher education.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)