PHOENIX - Almost 5,300 state workers agreed to give up their personnel-system protections in exchange for a temporary pay boost and the prospect of more money later.
The deadline to swap protections for a pay raise was Friday.
State human resources director Kathy Peckardt said 38 percent of the 13,761 eligible workers made the choice to give up some protection against termination and other discipline.
The remainder will keep their protected status - at least as long as they don't get a promotion.
Another 6,616 state employees were already forced to give up their personnel system protections under a change in state law pushed through earlier this year by Gov. Jan Brewer.
The state has about 34,000 employees, three-fourths of whom have been, until now, covered by the merit system.
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Between those who volunteered to give up their protection and those who were stripped by the change in the law, most will no longer be covered by the merit system.
Uncovered workers will find a 5 percent bonus in their first paychecks issued next month - the carrot offered by Brewer and lawmakers to get them to opt out of protection.
But the bigger paychecks are temporary and will disappear on June 30.
Peckardt said the larger paychecks for nine months equal a 3.75 percent pay hike when annualized, before taxes.
Peckardt said her office provided other arguments for why workers should give up their covered status.
The big one - other than the immediate cash - was the possibility of future raises.
In general, state employees get more money only when the Legislature authorizes an across-the-board pay raise. Peckardt said that means the same money for everyone, regardless of performance.
This new system, she said, will allow supervisors to award pay raises only to the most deserving workers.
The plan drew criticism during legislative debate from Democrats who said it could lead to cronyism, with bosses doling out cash only to favored employees. Peckardt, however, said there are some protections built in, including having workers evaluated not only by supervisors but also by co-workers.
The law did have exceptions for some public safety workers, allowing them to maintain their covered status.
But for the rest of state government, the new law is the beginning of the end for the current system of personnel rules: All new workers hired beginning in two weeks automatically are uncovered. And the state has an average turnover of 14 percent.
Also, existing employees who get a promotion - or even a lateral transfer or demotion - are stripped of their merit protections.