MTA Failed To Record More Than 200 Attacks On Workers: Report

New York City NY

12 May, 2022

11:49 AM

Description

NEW YORK CITY — Hundreds of attacks against MTA workers between 2019 and 2020 went unrecorded, according to official documents circulated on line this month. The unreported assaults— which numbered more than 200 — prompted state Department of Labor officials to issue violations against the transit agency last month, the New York Post first reported. A Department of Labor spokesperson confirmed to Patch that the documents posted to Twitter were genuine. "The report speaks for itself, and the New York State Department of Labor is working with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to ensure compliance," a DOL statement reads. "Worker protection remains a top priority and Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH) investigates all valid complaints filed by public sector employees. Public sector employees who believe their employers are in violation of health and safety laws are encouraged to reach out to PESH." The reveal about the violations came days after an MTA conductor publicly confronted transit bigwig Janno Lieber over worker safety and growing numbers of "deranged" people in the subways. The conductor called in to WNYC's "Brian Lehrer Show" last week and told Lieber that he was recently attacked. "The New York City subway system is a magnet and a haven for criminals," the conductor said. Lieber, in response, said transit officials are pushing to make it a misdemeanor to attack MTA workers. He also maintained that expanded NYPD patrols in subways will have an effect. But violence on subways and in buses against MTA workers appears to be a persistent problem. MTA data from last week alone showed 30 cases of harassment against employees and one assault case. MTA officials, in response to the Department of Labor violations, said they'd work to correct the unreported assaults. "The MTA is committed to working with the New York State Department of Labor to ensure compliance with all State regulations related to the health and safety of employees," said Eugene Resnick, an MTA spokesperson. "Worker protection remains a top priority for the MTA and we take all valid complaints filed by employees seriously."