Committee sought for state employee wage study

Alison Aroun, right, looks back at the crowd as The Mule-Kicker Cloggers of Fulton perform during State Employee Recognition Day festivities at the Truman Building on Thursday.
Alison Aroun, right, looks back at the crowd as The Mule-Kicker Cloggers of Fulton perform during State Employee Recognition Day festivities at the Truman Building on Thursday.

As Missouri government employees are being recognized this week for their value to state operations, lawmakers are planning how to determine what improvements are needed to the employees' paychecks and benefits.

Their plan is a follow-up to last year's Joint Interim Committee on State Employee Wages, which confirmed what everybody was pretty sure they already knew: Missouri government workers rank last among the 50 states in wages earned.

This year, lawmakers approved Rep. Mike Bernskoetter's resolution to re-authorize the 10-member committee.