Prison doctors at top of California pay scale

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KABC) -- Hundreds of state employees are drawing six-figure salaries, according to newly released compensation data for public employees.

The people with the top four state salaries are medical personnel, all working for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, whose paid salaries range from $777,323 to $582,609. Dozens of other prison medical personnel make more than $300,000 a year.

The chief risk officer for the State Compensation Insurance Fund, California's largest provider of workers' compensation, is paid more than $560,000 annually. Last year the chief investment officer for the California Public Employees Retirement System was paid more than $548,000.

The information is available on a website that shows salary ranges as well as actual compensation in calendar year 2010, said Hallye Jordan, spokeswoman for Controller John Chiang.

"There are people who are making more than the maximum salary (range)," Jordan said, by the time additional income is added to their base salaries.

Representatives for state agencies say the salaries are less than what experienced workers would earn in the private sector.

The controller's office began requesting the data in response to the compensation scandal in the city of Bell. Residents there voted the entire city council out of office in March after learning that council members and other top officials were giving themselves enormous salaries and pensions.

The Associated Press contributed to this story

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