CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Thousands of state workers will see their paydays change from twice a month to biweekly following a vote Wednesday by the state Enterprise Resource Planning Board.
The board, chaired by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, passed a resolution that puts into effect Phase 2 of the payday change for approximately 25,000 workers. The first phase, impacting 9,000 employees, took place last summer.
Wednesday’s resolution spells out a few exceptions for the time being including judicial system workers, according to state Auditor Glen Gainer.
“We’re moving ahead with Phase 2. We are going to continue to work out and address the concerns the Court (Supreme Court) has and it would be our hope to bring them on sometime after we bring most of the rest of state government on line,” Gainer said following the meeting.
The implementation of the change, brought on by the new state government Oasis computer system, was put on hold last year after Phase 1 when a number of concerns were raised by the Legislature Auditor Aaron Allred, state lawmakers and others. Some of those concerns still remain. Allred sent a letter to the board before Wednesday’s meting. But Gainer said it’s best to move forward with the change while continuing to work through the issues.
“I’m tired of being 50th and it’s time that we adopt business practices that move us ahead,” Gainer said. “I understand the fact that it’s change and people dislike change and change causes fear.”
MORE Read Aaron Allred letter here
Gov. Tomblin supports the change.
“I think it’s time. We have a lot of money and time invested in the Oasis project and it’s time to move on to have the kind of accountability and transparency that we need to make educated decisions to run state government,” Tomblin said.
It’s possible a few other state agencies won’t be ready for the change come May, according to Gainer. He mentioned state operated hospitals under the state Department of Health and Human Resources as one area that may need more time.
Gainer said he intends to abide by the state Supreme Court’s order that he provide answers to a pair of legal actions filed by probation and Family Court workers in connection with the change.
“I’m hoping that the Court ultimately will give us guidance in some of those areas, ” Gainer said. “Part of the pause with the Court is to give them an opportunity to weigh-in. We’ll follow their edict when they bring it down.” His answers to the current legal actions are due April 20.
The switch to biweekly pay occurred last June for workers in the offices of the governor, auditor and treasurer along with the Departments of Agriculture and Transportation and the Divisions of Administration and Natural Resources. Gainer said Wednesday he hasn’t received one complaint from those approximately 9,000 state workers.
“We believe, as the governor said, it’s what’s in the best interest of the State of West Virginia and most certainly it’s the way the majority of corporate America pays their employees,” Gainer said. “It is the most efficient way to pay people—in a biweekly system.”
A biweekly pay system gives workers more money in their pockets 70 percent of the time than in a semi-monthly system, Gainer said.
“It’s better for employees and it’s better for employers because you are standardizing every pay cycle. You’ll making the time capture and accountability standardized across government and yet employees have more money in their pockets because they are paid more frequently,” Gainer said.