The State Worker

Caltrans' recent decision to "unfire" an employee who admitted falsifying structural tests and let him retire may leave you wondering, How hard is it to fire a state worker?

California's prison officers union is getting a loan from taxpayers – interest-free – to settle a multimillion-dollar debt it owes the state.

To understand how Gov. Jerry Brown wants to reorganize government, just look at an iPhone.

California's biggest IT project – one that's supposed to help state government better manage its dollars – has money and staffing problems.

State Worker columnist and blogger Jon Ortiz hosted an online chat Friday about Gov. Jerry Brown's budget plan. Here are some highlights:

The State Worker blog author Jon Ortiz hosted a live chat today to talk primarily about Jerry Brown's budget proposal and what it means for government employees. Replay it here.

The next few weeks will draw the lines more sharply in the 2012 debate over public employee pensions. A road map:

State computer systems busted their budgets and launched late. Caltrans fired an employee for falsifying test data on the integrity of freeway structures – two years after it learned of the infractions. State labor unions inked contracts – years after their previous deals expired.

Here's one more thing to blame on Congress.

CalPERS just put another few million bucks into a new half-billion-dollar computer hardware and software system that launched late, went way over budget – and still isn't quite right.

Some observations from the recent legislative committee hearing that considered Gov. Jerry Brown's 12-point public pension reform plan:

Gov. Jerry Brown's hiring freeze has thawed some.

The Bee's Sunday report that a state worker violated key procedures while testing support structures for the new Bay Bridge span and other projects raises anew the question: Should California privatize more of its infrastructure work?