MTA Inspector General discovers employee time and attendance theft on LIRR
Written by David C. Lester, Editor-in-Chief
The MTA Office of the Inspector General has had it's hands full lately.
In addition to track inspectors allegedly falsifying reports saying inspections had been done when they had not (see RT&S report here), the OIG announced last week that two Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) conductors have been accused of employee time and attendance theft.
The conductor time theft was investigated in April, but the OIG just released their report last week. Allegedly, the theft was conducted by a husband-and-wife team, both of whom were conductors on the LIRR. On occasions where they were both due to work the same shift or the same train, only one would come to work, but punch time cards for both.
In an April 12 letter to Phillip Eng, President of the LIRR, the OIG said “We found that between Sept. 2020 and Nov. 2020, the Conductors abused time by failing to show up for their shifts and covering for each other. Basically, they were scheduled to work the same train during their shift, but the OIG caught them allowing one or the other to be home instead of both working the train. Notably, each of these shifts included 3 hours of built-in overtime. The OIG’s surveillance over a period of 4 weeks confirmed 2 instances where the Conductors covered for each other.”
The OIG letter also reported that each conductor had been employed by the LIRR since 1994, and they said they did this so one could stay home and care for a family member on short notice. The letter points out that requesting time off on short notice can bring possible disciplinary and financial repercussions. The letter said that the conductors garnered a total of $3,400 as a result of their actions.
You can find the complete OIG letter to Mr. Eng here.
