CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Legislators learned Sunday, Sept. 13, that a glitch in converting state employee payroll from twice a month to bi-weekly will lead to unplanned raises for salaried workers totaling $47.1 million across 10 years, and an immediate retirement system liability of $22.5 million.
The conversion was mishandled and violates state code regarding salary increases, Legislative Auditor Aaron Allred told the Post Audits Subcommittee. The governor alerted him to the problem in July, he said, and asked him to investigate.
Subcommittee leaders want some kind of fix for the problem, but went around in circles with cabinet officials who defended the process and don’t want to change anything.
Twice-a-month pay, also called semi-monthly, means getting a check on the 15th and last days of the month. Bi-weekly means every other Friday. The problem arises because 365 days doesn’t divide evenly across 26 paychecks…
