On August 25th, the Sacramento County Superior Court effectively blocked Governor Schwarzenegger's bid to impose the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour on California state workers--at least for another few months.

From SEIU Local 1000:

Judge Patrick Marlette sided with State Controller John Chiang and issued a ruling that Chiang's challenge to the governor's latest minimum wage order has enough merit to require a full hearing.

Our attorneys estimate the hearing will not take place before November. The next step is to move into the discovery period of the case, which includes testimonials and interviews with key experts and witnesses, and a review of all evidence on the challenges raised by the state controller.

After including furlough pay losses of 14 percent this past year, California's state workers' take-home pay is still 44 percent less now than it was. If Schwarzenegger's minimum wage decree moves forward in the future, it will result in a pay cut of 68 percent for approximately 200,000 workers.

Watch Local 1000's news report on the major victory.