By Philip Newman
New York State Attorney Andrew Cuomo's office has begun an investigation into published reports that since 2000 nearly $250 million in federal occupational disability payments has been paid to retired Long Island Rail Road employees who claimed disability, although some of them congregate at a golf club.
Gov. David Paterson, at whose behest the investigation was ordered, said: “At a time when our state and national economies are facing unprecedented strain and families are worried about meeting the cost of basic necessities, we must ensure the most appropriate, efficient use of taxpayer dollars.”
“Today, my office is issuing subpoenas to the Long Island Rail Road, calling for the production of all books and records related to the approval of disability benefits to its employees,” Cuomo said Tuesday.
“This begins what will be an aggressive and expeditious investigation into troubling allegations of wrongdoing regarding such payments,” he said. “We are also requesting to meet early this week with the relevant officials at the LIRR, and have already been in touch with the MTA.”
The New York Times reported Sunday that the 12 highest-paid LIRR engineers in 2006 are all now retired and getting disability payments, while more than 90 percent of LIRR retirees received disability payments from the federal Railroad Retirement Board, a little-known agency which rarely rejects such applications.
Although the employees claimed disabilities, the Times said many drawing such benefits can be found routinely at the Sunken Meadows golf club on Long Island.
The Times said the disability rate at the LIRR “suggests it is one of the nation's most dangerous places to work,” despite the fact that the railroad has earned national awards for worker safety in the last few years.
The LIRR said no one from the LIRR or MTA “was involved in the granting of these disability pensions by the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board.”
LIRR President Helena Williams called the report “alarming and out of sync with our workplace safety record.”
The Times said the LIRR disability rate was three to four times that of the average railroad in recent years and far above Metro-North Railroad, which services the Bronx and areas north of the city.
Although both have approximately the same number of employees, Metro-North said that from 2001-07, it had 32 disability cases as a result of arthritis and rheumatism. The Times said the LIRR had 752 such cases.
LIRR labor contracts permit retirement with a pension as young as age 50.
Gary Dellaverson, the MTA chief financial officer, commented to the Times: “How is it that somebody is occupationally disabled the day after he retires when he wasn't occupationally disabled the day before he retired?”
Reach contributing writer Philip Newman by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 136.
