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MTA contractors underpaid NYC subway cleaners during height of COVID, lawsuit alleges
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Feb 22, 2024
Modified Feb 22, 2024
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Gretchen Robinette / Gothamist
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Feb 22, 2024
Modified Feb 22, 2024
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The city comptroller’s office filed a lawsuit on Thursday against two MTA contractors for allegedly underpaying workers hired to clean subway cars and stations during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lawsuit, filed in the city Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, claims the companies Fleetwash and Ln Pro Services paid wages to 394 workers that were less than what is legally required by city rules, despite being awarded top-dollar contracts by the MTA.
In 2020, Fleetwash was awarded $14.7 million in contracts and LN Pro Services was awarded $21.9 million, according to the MTA.
But the lawsuit alleges they didn’t pass enough of that money along to their workers, who cleaned the subways as former Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered the system to close from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. every night.
The lawsuit seeks a combined $2.5 million for the workers, which includes restitution for their underpayments as well as fines and interest.
“Many of these workers were cheated out of the prevailing wage they earned, all while facing terrifying conditions,” Comptroller Brad Lander said in a statement. “This lawsuit brings these workers closer to justice and underscores the urgent need for accountability.”
The contracts were awarded under an emergency order and weren’t subject to the MTA’s typical bid process. The cleaning work was undertaken in May 2020, as New York City saw hundreds of COVID-19 deaths per day.
The lawsuit says Fleetwash violated city labor law in 2020 and 2021, and owe 149 workers a combined $800,000 because they were underpaid to clean trains at the Eighth Avenue station on the L line. It claims Ln Pro Services underpaid 255 workers stationed at the Flatbush Avenue terminal on the 2 and 5 lines and the Jamaica-179th Street terminal on the F line, and owes them a combined $1.7 million.
Officials at Fleetwash were not available for comment. Representatives could not be reached at Ln Pro Services, which boasts a slogan on its website that reads, “Cutting corners, not just cleaning them.”
The comptroller’s office said the the city’s prevailing wage rates — which sets minimum pay for public work — were not included in the MTA’s contract with the companies. Ex-Comptroller Scott Stringer sent a letter to the MTA in 2020 demanding they require the companies to pay the cleaners those rates.
Earlier this month, the MTA and Fleetwash filed a lawsuit of their own against the comptroller’s office, arguing the original contracts were not subject to the prevailing wage and benefits rates requirements.
The MTA declined to comment on the issue further.
Tagged
new york city
transportation
Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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