North Carolina State Government Workers Will Wait for Raises, Bonuses

On July 7, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein signed off on a state budget that includes raises for thousands of state government employees, with bonuses expected later in the year for some.

As WUNC News recently reported, those raises won’t appear in paychecks until late September, with bonuses coming at a later date.

The budget bill that Stein approved included a 3% raise for most state workers, along with bonuses ranging from $1,000 for those with salaries above $65,000 annually to $1,750 to employees earning less than $65,000 a year. Local law enforcement officers are set to receive a bonus of $1,750 regardless of their salary, WUNC News’ Colin Campbell wrote.

“But if workers are looking for the extra money in their paychecks at the end of this month, they won’t find it,” Campbell wrote on July 21.

The bill became law too late in the month of July for the current payroll cycle to reflect the increases. As Campbell noted, North Carolina’s Office of State Controller handles payroll processing for state workers, and says that employees can expect to see the raises in their August paycheck, retroactive to July 1. Employees paid biweekly will see the raises on Aug. 14. Those paid monthly will receive their increases on Aug. 31.

Employees who retire or leave state government jobs after June 30, but before the bonuses are issued, will still receive the bonuses, likely mailed to them in the fall, according to WUNC News.

The bonuses will reportedly wait until fall, with the State Controller’s Office telling WUNC News that the money will appear in late September paychecks.

In an email to WUNC, the Office of the State Controller attributed the delay to a timing issue.

“In order for employees to be paid at the end of July, all detailed payroll increases would have had to be captured and validated into our central payroll system on or before Friday, July 17,” spokesman Michael Euliss told WUNC.

“That simply was not enough time to ensure the increases were accurate and each employee met the legislative eligibility requirements. To make sure this was accurate and done right, pay increases will be captured in employees’ August month-end checks, which include retroactive amounts dated back to July 1, 2026.”