State of CA public employee psychiatrist gets paid $822,000 salary

[ctr70]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-11/-822-000-worker-shows-california-leads-u-s-pay-giveaway.html

Really good comprehensive article from Bloomberg on how California public employees make far more than any other public employees across the country. (series of 6 articles…more on pensions tomorrow)

Some good excerpts:

“In California, Governor Jerry Brown hasn’t curbed overtime expenses that lead the 12 largest states or limited payments for accumulated vacation time that allowed one employee to collect $609,000 at retirement in 2011.”

“It’s outrageous what public employees in California receive in compensation and benefits,” said Lanny Ebenstein, who heads the California Center for Public Policy, a Santa Barbara-based research institution critical of public payrolls. “Until public employee compensation and benefits are brought in line, there will be no answer to the fiscal shortfalls that California governments at every level face,” he said.

“Rising employee expenses are crowding out other priorities for state and local governments and draining resources for college tuition, health care, public safety, schools and other services”

“California spends most of its money on salaries, retirement payments, health care benefits for government workers, and other compensation,” said Schwarzenegger, 65, who replaced Davis as governor. “State revenues are up more than 50 percent over the past 10 years, but still we’ve had to cut spending on services because so much of that revenue increase went to increases in compensation and benefits.”

“I find it offensive that people who work for the state try to turn around and abuse the state through inflated overtime claims and lump-sum payouts,” Davis said. “We have high salaries, they have to come down. There was a time when we could afford them, but we can’t now.”

Mohammad Safi, graduate of a medical school in Afghanistan, collected $822,302 last year, up from $90,682 when he started in 2006, the data show. Safi was placed on administrative leave in July and is under investigation by the Department of State Hospitals, formerly the Department of Mental Health.

[UCGal]

the psychiatrist who was paid 822,302, was paid mostly for vacation time not taken. Elsewhere in the article it suggests his pay was about $400k/year. (Still high, but not *as* outrageous).

A fix for the excessive vacation pay would be to apply the CA labor law minimums to state employees. CA Law says that employers must allow employees to be able to care over 1.5x their annual vacation time. I know because my company allows only 40 hours to be rolled over from each calendar year – except in CA, where the law is different.

So if an employee has 3 weeks vacation/year – they could carry over up to 4.5 weeks of unused time, if the company sets this policy.

The article also suggests that CA’s excess vacation time is in part due to the unpaid furloughs state workers had to go through. They were required to use unpaid furlough time BEFORE using vacation time. so less vacation time was actually used,… and it accumulated.

I’m not suggesting these guys aren’t overpaid. I’m just looking at the details of the numbers.

[an]

UCGal, just so I read your post correctly, you’re saying that the guy’s pay is $400k but after vacation payout, his pay went up to $822k? That’s 100% increase from vacation pay? Who can save a year’s worth of vacation?

[Coronita]

The other option is to do what my company has done. Eliminate paid vacation completely….

[Coronita]

The good news is the person probably gonna paid a shitload of taxes in 2012 and 2013…

[UCGal]

[quote=AN]UCGal, just so I read your post correctly, you’re saying that the guy’s pay is $400k but after vacation payout, his pay went up to $822k? That’s 100% increase from vacation pay? Who can save a year’s worth of vacation?[/quote]
The state apparently doesn’t have a “use it or lose it” policy.
And he “apparently” was working 17 hour days because they cut back staff and increased patients… so he had more shifts.

I just read the article.

I have coworkers who would have way more than a years salary in vacation pay if we didn’t cap at 1.5x the annual accrual. They’ve stopped accruing because they hit the cap a long time ago. They are workaholics who never take time off.
(I don’t have that problem. LOL)

[SD Squatter]

Yeah, let’s raise some more taxes, it’s for saving the middle class, for the kids, or something…

[an]

[quote=UCGal]I have coworkers who would have way more than a years salary in vacation pay if we didn’t cap at 1.5x the annual accrual. They’ve stopped accruing because they hit the cap a long time ago. They are workaholics who never take time off.
(I don’t have that problem. LOL)[/quote]
We all know those people. Even federal government have a cap. So, at the very least, state should do what the federal and many private companies do (1.5x max). My brother’s company don’t even let them carry over vacation at all.

[SK in CV]

[quote=UCGal][quote=AN]UCGal, just so I read your post correctly, you’re saying that the guy’s pay is $400k but after vacation payout, his pay went up to $822k? That’s 100% increase from vacation pay? Who can save a year’s worth of vacation?[/quote]
The state apparently doesn’t have a “use it or lose it” policy.
And he “apparently” was working 17 hour days because they cut back staff and increased patients… so he had more shifts.

I just read the article.

I have coworkers who would have way more than a years salary in vacation pay if we didn’t cap at 1.5x the annual accrual. They’ve stopped accruing because they hit the cap a long time ago. They are workaholics who never take time off.
(I don’t have that problem. LOL)[/quote]

I don’t think that’s uncommon at all at employers who allow unlimited carryover, though this is probably at the high side. I think it’s pretty rare now to allow for unlimited carryover. I know a guy who retired and still had over 18 months of unused vacation pay. He expected the employer to offer him a buyout, but they didn’t. He stopped working at about 55, started using his vacation, continued to have full health benefits, contribute to his 401K (with some matching), and didn’t technically retire until he was almost 57. Just kept getting his direct deposit paychecks twice a month or whatever. He’d worked for the company for over 30 years and got something like 6 weeks paid vacation annually by the time he retired and rarely used 2 weeks.

[paramount]

The only way this gets fixed is if California goes bankrupt.

IMO most on this board have a moral obligation to now leave California.

[SK in CV]

[quote=paramount]The only way this gets fixed is if California goes bankrupt.

IMO most on this board have a moral obligation to now leave California.[/quote]

Huh? Why would there be a moral obligation to leave? And why most? Who gets to stay?

[paramount]

[quote=SK in CV][quote=paramount]The only way this gets fixed is if California goes bankrupt.

IMO most on this board have a moral obligation to now leave California.[/quote]

Huh? Why would there be a moral obligation to leave? And why most? Who gets to stay?[/quote]

If you work in the private sector, leave. Otherwise, you’re an enabler.

California must go bankrupt.

[SK in CV]

[quote=paramount][quote=SK in CV][quote=paramount]The only way this gets fixed is if California goes bankrupt.

IMO most on this board have a moral obligation to now leave California.[/quote]

Huh? Why would there be a moral obligation to leave? And why most? Who gets to stay?[/quote]

If you work in the private sector, leave. Otherwise, you’re an enabler.

California must go bankrupt.[/quote]

12 million people out of work. There’s a good idea. That should help a lot.

[UCGal]

[quote=paramount][quote=SK in CV][quote=paramount]The only way this gets fixed is if California goes bankrupt.

IMO most on this board have a moral obligation to now leave California.[/quote]

Huh? Why would there be a moral obligation to leave? And why most? Who gets to stay?[/quote]

If you work in the private sector, leave. Otherwise, you’re an enabler.

California must go bankrupt.[/quote]
after you….
I’m polite that way. 🙂

[CA renter]

[quote=paramount][quote=SK in CV][quote=paramount]The only way this gets fixed is if California goes bankrupt.

IMO most on this board have a moral obligation to now leave California.[/quote]

Huh? Why would there be a moral obligation to leave? And why most? Who gets to stay?[/quote]

If you work in the private sector, leave. Otherwise, you’re an enabler.

California must go bankrupt.[/quote]

LOL! You’re just trying to get a deal on a house! 🙂

[Author]

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