Waste and recycling workers are among the 398 employees in Scranton, Pa., who had their pay reduced to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
Mayor Chris Doherty reduced the entire city's payroll to $7.25 an hour, including his own, the Times-Tribune of Scrantonreported. Policemen and firefighters are included in those who saw their pay slashed, after the mayor said the city doesn't have enough money to pay its employees their regular rates.
A local judge approved an injunction against the pay decrease, but the mayor went ahead with the pay cuts anyway, the newspaper reported.
City officials told the newspaper that the cut was temporary and employees would return to their regular pay once the city's cash-flow situation improved.
The waste and recycling employees, along with the city's firefighters and police officers, are suing the city.
Jeremy Carroll writes for Waste & Recycling News, a sister publication of Workforce Management. Comment below or email editors@workforce.com.
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