Downstate Judge Rules State Workers Should Be Paid In Full
From the Chicago Tribune
State employees should be paid in full while a budget impasse plays out at the Capitol, a downstate judge ruled Thursday.
The decision in St. Clair County, near St. Louis, contradicts a Tuesday ruling in Cook County, where a judge denied Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger’s request to continue paying workers in full despite the absence of a budget.
Following the downstate ruling Thursday, Munger’s office issued a statement saying she was moving forward with processing payroll for checks due to go out July 15.
“While there will most certainly be additional legal action, I am confident that the court will ultimately determine that paying state employees for their work is the right, and legal, thing to do,” Munger said in a statement.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office said it would review whether to appeal the St. Clair judge’s ruling after its attorneys had argued that paying state workers in full would violate the Illinois Constitution, which leaves it to the legislature and governor to decide how state money should be spent.
The contradictory rulings leave the fate of worker pay caught in a murky legal mess.
“What is clear at this point is that this is going to continue to play itself out in court, which makes it absolutely imperative that the governor and legislature do their jobs and enact a budget,” said Natalie Bauer Luce, a spokeswoman for Madigan’s office. Lisa Madigan is the daughter of House Speaker Michael Madigan, who has led the resistance against Gov. Bruce Rauner’s agenda.
The latest ruling came in a case brought by 13 unions representing state employees, who argued that failing to pay workers in full was a violation of their collective bargaining agreements. St. Clair County Circuit Court Judge Robert LeChien said the state must comply with those agreements and should pay all workers in full if separating union and nonunion pay was not possible.
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From the Chicago Tribune
State employees should be paid in full while a budget impasse plays out at the Capitol, a downstate judge ruled Thursday.
The decision in St. Clair County, near St. Louis, contradicts a Tuesday ruling in Cook County, where a judge denied Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger’s request to continue paying workers in full despite the absence of a budget.
Following the downstate ruling Thursday, Munger’s office issued a statement saying she was moving forward with processing payroll for checks due to go out July 15.
“While there will most certainly be additional legal action, I am confident that the court will ultimately determine that paying state employees for their work is the right, and legal, thing to do,” Munger said in a statement.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office said it would review whether to appeal the St. Clair judge’s ruling after its attorneys had argued that paying state workers in full would violate the Illinois Constitution, which leaves it to the legislature and governor to decide how state money should be spent.
The contradictory rulings leave the fate of worker pay caught in a murky legal mess.
“What is clear at this point is that this is going to continue to play itself out in court, which makes it absolutely imperative that the governor and legislature do their jobs and enact a budget,” said Natalie Bauer Luce, a spokeswoman for Madigan’s office. Lisa Madigan is the daughter of House Speaker Michael Madigan, who has led the resistance against Gov. Bruce Rauner’s agenda.
The latest ruling came in a case brought by 13 unions representing state employees, who argued that failing to pay workers in full was a violation of their collective bargaining agreements. St. Clair County Circuit Court Judge Robert LeChien said the state must comply with those agreements and should pay all workers in full if separating union and nonunion pay was not possible.
Read more in our daily News Update...