Sacramento, CA – Assemblyman Jeff Gorell (R-Camarillo), Vice-Chairman of the Assembly Budget committee, announced today that he has introduced Assembly Bill 208, which will prohibit state employees from receiving a full-time state salary while also concurrently accepting hourly employment positions within the same department. This specific practice to augment pay for state employees was revealed at CALPERS after a recent Sacramento Bee news story and follow up investigation by the Department of Finance.

“This practice, which I believe is pervasive throughout state government, is a back door way to provide salaried employees overtime pay where overtime for those on salary is prohibited,” said Assemblyman Gorell. “Not only does this practice circumvent the state’s compensation policies, but by assigning an employee two job classifications it takes away employment opportunities for the state’s unemployed job-seekers.”

Recent investigations by the Sacramento Bee newspaper staff and the department of finance of payroll data revealed that state workers in nearly a dozen departments hold both a salaried position and another hourly-wage position in-house.

Gorell further stated: “The state controller’s office confirmed yesterday that hundreds of managers, supervisors and other non-hourly state workers in nearly a dozen state departments are using this loophole to receive additional hourly wages above their existing salary. This practice appears to be an inappropriate, and perhaps abusive, use of taxpayer dollars to overcompensate employees for their existing responsibilities.”