Under the new system, state workers could be paid on a more typical bi-weekly basis rather than once a month - a shift that would give employees more financial flexibility as they juggle budgets and combat inflation. The latest reinvention effort, branded as the California State Payroll System Project, started in 2016 and won’t be completed until at least 2028. The state ended up settling a lawsuit in 2016 and received a $59 million refund from the vendor.
A previous modernization attempt was scrapped by former Controller John Chiang after a failed roll-out to a small number of employees in 2013.
State controllers have envisioned a complete overhaul of the system since at least 1999, when the Legislature dedicated $1 million to the project.