CHICAGO (AP) – Illinois won’t be allowed to pay state workers in full during an ongoing budget impasse, a Cook County judge ruled Tuesday, potentially leaving some 65,000 employees without a paycheck and putting added pressure on lawmakers to approve a new spending plan.
Judge Diane Larsen said that without a 2016 budget in place Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger may only pay some workers who are covered under a federal labor law. Those workers would receive the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour plus overtime.
But Munger’s attorneys and lawyers for the state’s personnel agency said it would take as long as a year to determine which employees would be paid under federal law and adjust payroll because of antiquated computer systems. That effectively means no workers will be paid until Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrats who control the Legislature approve a budget, the comptroller’s attorneys said. It’s also likely to trigger federal fines and penalties.
Larsen’s ruling likely won’t be the final word. Munger and the leader of the state’s largest public-employee union separately said they plan to appeal, and Rauner directed the state personnel department to do the same. Thirteen labor unions representing state employees also have filed a lawsuit in St. Clair County seeking full pay. A hearing in that case could occur this week.
“Public service workers in state government are on the job despite the lack of a state budget for the fiscal year that started July 1,” said Roberta Lynch, executive director of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31. “Throughout Illinois they are keeping their communities safe, protecting kids, caring for veterans and people with disabilities, and providing countless other vital public services – and they should be paid for their work on time and in full.”