MTA reports: Overtime pay within the LIRR is 'excessive' and 'improper'

Two new reports released by the MTA find that overtime travel play within the LIRR is "excessive," "improper" and flat out "abuse."

News 12 Staff

Oct 16, 2019, 9:35 PM

Updated 1,652 days ago

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Two new reports released by the MTA find that overtime travel play within the LIRR is "excessive," "improper" and flat out "abuse."
MTA Inspector General Carolyn Pokorny highlighted four employees in the engineering department in her reports.
Pokorny says, "We estimated that these four foremen could have received as much as $146,800 each in questionable travel time payments for 2018."
The report also found that engineering lacks reliable records to document employees' work dates, times and locations. It also states that supervisors don't review daily labor sheets for accuracy.
Union officials say that the LIRR has paid workers for one overtime hour before and after each overtime shift for travel. The inspector general's report, however, found many workers claimed much more than that.
The LIRR's top union official says management is to blame for all the overtime issues not his workers.
"If managers are allowing them to do something that's not proper than they should be addressing that," says Anthony Simon, the S.M.A.R.T. chairman.
The union official says one of the four workers in the report who has since retired has agreed to pay restitution.
Simon says if the person paid restitution then that person is showing some guilt.
The MTA responded in part by saying it will require a standard labor sheet be used by all employees. However, with regards to the additional issues and recommendations MTA officials say they are hiring an independent third party firm to review and provide guidance.


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