How would a transition to biweekly pay affect you?
As we have engaged in bargaining on a payroll transition with the state, we have made sure we understand the impacts of the change to people’s pay on a check-by-check basis and we know the timing and details can have a big impact. That is why we have spent so much time listening and pushing the state to understand how important this issue is.
The state has proposed moving people from being paid once a month to being paid every two weeks. Additionally, overtime-eligible employees would switch to hourly pay, which aims to reduce payroll errors caused by the current system of paying both salaried and hourly wages.
Initially, the state offered $500 for this transition, which would have left workers with a big gap between paychecks. Our bargaining team has been clear that is unacceptable, and we have prioritized making sure no worker is negatively impacted financially by these changes. The state now understands this won’t happen unless they offer us a better transition package.
After months of bargaining, the proposed transition plan is:
- Move payroll to a biweekly schedule starting in July 2027, with the final full-month paycheck on July 1, 2027.
- To help with the transition, on July 1, 2027 you will receive both:
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- 40 hours of paid leave, which can be cashed out immediately and won’t count toward accrual limits.
- A one-time $1,700 paycheck, prorated based on FTE.
- Pay for the partial month before biweekly pay begins (July 1-3, 2027) will be paid out on July 16, 2027. This payment is based on an average of two full workdays, assuming a Monday–Friday schedule. For example, a full-time worker would typically work 16 hours on Thursday, July 1 and Friday, July 2, and not work on Saturday. The payment is prorated based on the usual weekly hours value. Workers who do work on Saturday, July 3 will receive a higher payment to reflect those additional hours.
- Biweekly pay periods begin with July 4-17, 2027, paid out on July 30, 2027.
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