More than 700 MTA employees earned six figures in overtime last year, including the LIRR’s top overtime earner, who more than quadrupled her salary with the extra pay, according to a report released Wednesday.
The annual Metropolitan Transportation Authority payroll report compiled by the Empire Center for Public Policy revealed that the highest overtime earner was Metro-North’s supervisor of structures and Grand Central Terminal, Harry Dobson, who made $254,638 on top of his $117,183 salary, for a total of $381,255 in compensation in 2023.
While Dobson was able to triple his salary, LIRR car repair person Martina Eugene more than quadrupled her base pay of $75,169 by racking up $239,819 in overtime, according to the report. She made $331,190 last year.
In total, 724 MTA employees made more than $100,000 each in overtime. MTA officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Overall payroll rose $663 million, or 9%, to its highest ever, according to the report.
The Empire Center, an Albany-based conservative think tank, in 2019 exposed record overtime spending and led to several fraud investigations, and to five current or former LIRR employees being convicted on various charges related to lying about their work hours.
Newsday last month reported that the MTA set a new overtime record in 2023, spending $1.42 billion — $80 million more than in 2023. MTA officials attributed much of the increased costs to job vacancies and said they remained as committed as ever to reining in overtime spending.
The new report noted that, throughout the MTA, the rise in overtime costs in 2023 outpaced inflation, including at MTA Police, where overtime climbed by 37% — the highest percentage of any MTA agency. At the LIRR, overtime rose by 14% over the previous year.
The four highest paid workers at the MTA in 2023 were all Bridges and Tunnels officers, including the authority’s highest compensated employee, Lt. Edwin Lee, who made $531,659, including $185,338 in retro pay and $181,065 in overtime, according to the report.
MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber made $400,999 in 2023 — enough to make him the authority’s 14th-highest paid employee.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
