1,400 California State Workers Paid $200K+

State budget problems? What budget problems? That's what some 1,400 California state workers who pull in at least $200,000 a year are wondering. One prison doc earned a cool $777,000 last year, and a dentist collected $599,000. Most of the top paid workers are doctors, nurses, and dentists who work in the prison system, or medical professionals working for the state Department of Mental Health.

Some workers got huge lump sum payments last year for unused sick days, including a shrink who collected $595,000 after amassing 2.5 years of unused sick days, notes the Los Angeles Times. The chief of the state pension fund and head of the workers' compensation fund can each earn close to $600,000 a year. Their boss, Gov. Jerry Brown, earns $174,000 a year. (More California stories.)