Legal News

Court Employees' Pay Is Delayed With Harrisburg Budget Impasse

By Brian Harris

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

With the leadership of the executive and legislative branches in Harrisburg still far off from striking a budget deal, 14 employees of the First Judicial District will soon start working days that they won't get paid for until after budget bargaining is over.

While a budget was supposed to be passed by Tuesday, Democratic Gov. Edward G. Rendell and the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives are leagues apart from the Republican-controlled Senate on a budget and whether or not taxes should be raised to close Pennsylvania's deficit.

First Judicial District Administrator Dave Lawrence said he and other employees in court administration whose salaries are paid as part of the Unified Judicial System are getting paid this week, but they won't be paid for any days they work in July until after a budget for the fiscal year that started today is passed into law.

Lawrence was not surprised about the pay delay, saying he can't recall how many times a delay in pay has happened for state employees during budget wrangling.

Judges are paid at the end of the month, Lawrence said, so judges' pay won't be affected unless a budget impasse lasts beyond July.

While the city of Philadelphia's budget is contingent upon Harrisburg approval for pension deferments and a sales tax increase, "at this point there will be no interruption for paychecks for employees who are paid by the city," Lawrence said.

Full post as published by The Legal Intelligencer Blog on July 01, 2009 (boomark / email).