MADISON, Wis. -- Staff members of the 14 Wisconsin Senate Democrats who left the state 11 days ago rather than vote on a union bill will now have to get their pay authorized by the Republican leader.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said Monday that he would take over the duties of reviewing and approving Democratic staff members' timesheets.

The Senate's organizational committee run by Republicans approved the change giving Fitzgerald the authority rather than the Democratic senators.

Fitzgerald is also not allowing Democratic lawmakers or their staff members to use Capitol copiers, saying there has been some "highly unusual usage" of the machines in recent days.

Fitzgerald is also no longer allowing senators' paychecks to be directly deposited. Instead, they are being held at the Capitol.

Fitzgerald said the moves are necessary because of quote "extraordinary circumstances."

"Ultimately, I have a responsibility for all staff, both sides of the aisle. So we thought this would be a better way of doing it to make sure the staff is all paid on time," Fitzgerald said.

When asked whether there is a chance that some Senate Democrat staffers could not get paid because he can't verify their hours, Fitzgerald replied, "No, everybody will be paid."

Fitzgerald said he will submit timesheets with a cover letter explaining that he can't verify hours, but he reiterated that staffers will be paid and on time.

The Senate Democrats left the state on Feb. 17 to avoid passage of a bill taking away nearly all collective bargaining rights for most public employees.