The paychecks that public employees get today will be quite a bit smaller than the ones they’ve gotten in the past. That’s because this is the first paycheck that takes into account a provision in the budget repair bill that requires public employees to pay more for their fringe benefits.

Beginning teachers, janitors, workers in school, and other working-class public employees could lose thousands of dollars per year, the equivalent of as much as six months of grocery costs.A WCCF analysis of the compensation cuts and other budget changes found that:

• Workers earning the least will take the biggest hits to their budget – as much as 15% in lost income and increased costs.

• The impact on low-income public sector workers, in terms of monetary impact, will be far greater than that on workers in the private sector.

• Working-class families with children will be hit especially hard, as the state rolls back tax credits for working families with children and support for child care.

If you’re interested in seeing the impact of these changes at the local level, the Institute for Wisconsin’s future has county-by-county information on the effect of the compensation cuts and other budget changes.

You can find WCCF’s analysis here.