MTA overtime spending increased 6% in 2023, reaching $1.37B: Study

NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) – The MTA’s payroll increased by 9% in 2023 and overtime spending reached $1.37 billion, according to new data from the Empire Center. 

The agency’s total payroll spending jumped by $663 million in 2023, and some MTA employees saw their overtime pay exceed $200,000, the study found. Some 724 MTA employees received over $100,000 each in overtime in 2023, according to Empire Center, a think tank that releases government payroll data. 

Workers at three MTA subsidiaries – Bridges & Tunnels, MTA Police and MTA Bus – received over $20,000 each in overtime pay, the data show. In total, 13 MTA employees received over $200,000 in overtime in 2023.

In a statement to PIX11, MTA Spokesperson Joana Flores said the MTA’s budget was down compared to previous years, even as services were improved. 

“The overall budget is down in real dollars compared to prior years, even accounting for labor agreements that include wage increases. The MTA is providing a ton more service with record on-time performance, and overtime, which is authorized in accordance with collective bargaining agreements, is a strategic tool used to keep trains running and the system safe. That strategy has paid off – crime is down and on-time performance has surged, with schedules that include a substantially higher number of trains.”

Flores clarified that Sergeants and Lieutenants at MTA Bridges & Tunnels – the subsidiary that saw the second-highest jump in overtime pay – were retroactively paid in 2023 after an expired union contract was settled. 

Some 94 employees collected over $100,000 each in backpay in 2023, according to the Empire Center. For Lieutenant Edwin Lee, Bridges & Tunnels’ highest earner, this retro pay totaled $185,338 and his total annual salary $531,659, the data show. 

MTA Police saw the highest jump in overtime pay, which increased by $45 million or 37% compared to the year before.