Even as a new court fight broke out Tuesday over Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's order to cut the pay of most state workers to the federal minimum, the clock was ticking for affected workers. The good news for the roughly 200,000 workers whose pay is slated to drop to $7.25 per hour during the state's budget deadlock is that, for most, the next payday is not until Aug. 1, buying time to press a fight.

Following are answers to other key questions about the minimum-wage order:

>Will Controller John Chiang comply with the governor's order?

Not voluntarily.

"The controller will pursue any legal avenue needed to protect Californians from the governor's reckless executive order," Hallye Jordan, Chiang's spokeswoman, said in a written statement Tuesday.

Chiang vowed to file a court challenge after the 3rd District Court of Appeal upheld Schwarzenegger's right to impose the minimum-wage order.

Chiang wants a judge to determine whether his payroll system is capable of reducing and later restoring pay quickly enough to protect taxpayers from billions of dollars in fines and penalties.

Employee unions also are likely to launch a court fight.

Schwarzenegger applied new pressure Tuesday by filing a writ in Sacramento Superior Court seeking a court order to force Chiang's compliance.

>Would health, dental, vision and other benefits be affected by the governor's order?

Not initially. State contracts specify that such benefits would continue to be provided for at least 90 days.

>How would affected workers pay their bills?

The Golden 1 Credit Union and Schools Financial Credit Union are offering zero-interest or low-interest loans to members whose pay is cut by the order.

Other financial institutions may follow suit or provide other assistance – for example, Bank of America is creating a program with options ranging from emergency credit lines to credit card payment assistance.

Workers should contact their financial institutions for details.

>If Schwarzenegger wants to force workers to accept minimum wage, why is he using the federal minimum wage instead of the state's?

California's minimum wage is $8 per hour, 75 cents higher than that of the federal government.

Schwarzenegger's use of the federal minimum wage stems from a 2003 California Supreme Court finding that workers are entitled, absent a state budget, only to minimal pay required under federal law. They would be reimbursed once a budget is signed.

>Would Schwarzenegger's minimum-wage order affect overtime pay?

Overtime is expected to be restricted if pay is cut to the minimum.

The state Supreme Court, in its 2003 ruling, found that employees who earn overtime pay also must be paid their full wages during that pay period.

>Does the minimum-wage order exclude any state workers?

Schwarzenegger's order exempts 37,000 employees in six unions that recently reached tentative agreement on new labor contracts.

The unions represent doctors, Highway Patrol officers, firefighters, and psychiatric technicians, equipment operators, and health and social service professionals.

The tentative contracts for those unions would lower retirement benefits for new hires and increase what members pay into their pensions.

To avoid minimum wage, however, two-thirds of the Senate and the Assembly would have to pass legislation appropriating money specifically for that payroll.

Schwarzenegger's order also would not affect workers in agencies with continuous appropriations, such as CalPERS, the state's pension system.

>Is Schwarzenegger imposing minimum wage for political reasons, to force legislators to act quickly on a new budget?

State personnel officials argue that employees cannot legally be paid full salary when the state lacks a budget, pointing to a provision of the state constitution that reads:

"Money may be drawn from the Treasury only through an appropriation made by law and upon a Controller's duly drawn warrant."

Opponents argue there are other legal issues to be considered – for example, Chiang contends that implementing the order without changing the state's payroll system and payroll laws would violate federal law and the state constitution.

>Would Schwarzenegger and state legislators receive minimum wage, too?

No, they would get no pay at all. Schwarzenegger has not accepted state pay since he took office in 2003. Besides, the governor, the Legislature and their aides are prohibited under state law from being paid when the state lacks a budget. Like other employees, however, they would be repaid once a budget deal is struck.

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Call Jim Sanders, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5538.

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