State workers won't skip paycheck

LAUREN WALSH, THE OLYMPIAN

OLYMPIA -- State employees will get paid on their regular payday despite this week's devastating earthquake, state officials said.

Barring any new disasters, payday will continue as usual, officials said. The next scheduled one is March 10.

Vendors and contractors dealing with state agencies will also receive paychecks within a timely fashion, either on time or two to three days later than normal, officials said.

Vendors who work with the Department of General Administration could receive their paycheck up to 30 days later than usual, according to law, but this seems unlikely, officials said.

State employees who lost work because of the quake will be paid for their time off, Hal Spencer, a spokesman for Gov. Gary Locke's office, said Thursday.

On Friday, Locke said that employees who worked around the clock on Wednesday and Thursday to get the state back in working order should receive extra compensation beyond overtime pay.

He did not specify in what form the compensation would come, or when.

"We need to recognize in some fashion those state workers who have been working around the clock," Locke said. "There must be some way we can recognize their efforts."

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