Mo. Guard pay lags for in-state missions

[unhappycamper]

Mo. Guard pay lags for in-state missions
By Chris Blank - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Sep 12, 2008 9:06:05 EDT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Some state National Guard members have had to wait nearly a month to get paid for responding to Missouri emergencies.

Guard members receive federal pay during their regular weekend training and when sent to other states, such as those sent to Louisiana earlier this month because of Hurricane Gustav.

But when the governor activates the Guard to help with disasters in Missouri, those soldiers are paid through the state payroll system. The state payroll is done on two-week increments with the paycheck covering one cycle behind for accounting purposes. So work done for the first two weeks of the month is paid at the end of that month. And work done in the second half of the month is paid in the middle of the following month.

Missouri Guard Command Sgt. Maj. Matt Jenkins said the state pay lag has been a hardship for some Guard members who are called away from civilian jobs and then go weeks between pay periods. He said the spate of Missouri weather emergencies has made the delay more significant because troops are being activated more frequently.

The lag “has been that way for a good while, but we’re seeing more natural disasters and getting called out more,” Jenkins said. “The heat, the ice storms, it’s just been a bad year.”


REst of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/ap_missouripay_091108/%2e

[Tunkamerica]

1. totally off topic, but

am i the only one who thinks Missouri's abbreviation should be something other than MO? I always, always think Montana. What about MZ?