NEW YORK — Results of a nearly three-year investigation by Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Office of Inspector General allege that 36 employees, including seven supervisors, at three Long Island Rail Road facilities engaged in acts of misconduct related to timecard abuse, MTA Inspector General Daniel G. Cort said on Thursday (Oct. 23, 2025).
“These employees, including supervisors who should have been enforcing the rules, stole countless hours of paid time,” Cort said in a press release. “The investigation revealed a widespread lack of ethics and contempt for the timekeeping regulations in these LIRR facilities. I hope that our investigation and the serious punishments handed down by LIRR management will help combat the culture of corruption that has festered for too long at these facilities.”
The activities took place at LIRR’s Ronkonkoma, Richmond Hill, and West Side locations, and involved cloned ID cars used by colleagues to swipe workers in and out when they were not present. Upon receiving the OIG report in June, the LIRR took actions including unpaid suspensions ranging from two to nine months for those who waived administrative trials and three who were demoted. Twelve of those included in the report have resigned or retired, including eight who did so after disciplinary charges were filed.
Ultimately, 24 employees, including one foreman, admitted to possessing the cloned ID cards; 19 admitted that they had swiped employees in or out who were not present, while 23 admitted to arriving late or leaving work early while having another employee swipe them in or out.
Along with the use of the cloned timecards, misconduct included employees who regularly left their work sites for extended periods of time in the middle of their shifts; employees who left early nearly every day; creation of the cloned cards on LIRR property; and selling of the cards — using a machine bought on Amazon — to coworkers for up to $40 each. The report says one Richmond Hill employee went to the gym 198 times while still on the clock for work.
Long Island Rail Road President Rob Free was said in the railroad’s response to the report to have found the misconduct to be “shocking and deeply offensive.” The LIRR said it had taken actions to address the findings including unannounced, on-premises audits of workers; electronic audits using biometrics; installation of cameras to monitor compliance with time and attendance requirements, and increased supervision and management at remote facilities during late night and overnight shifts, as well as a requirement for employees at field locations to sign in and out for breaks.
The full report is available here.
Notice how illegal activities in the blue collar ranks will result, eventually, in punishment. But if you’re found to be bribing officials, depending on who you kiss up to, there will be no punishment whatsoever.