Jamaica LIRR Office's New Biometric Clock Vandalized

JAMAICA, QUEENS — A new clock at the Jamaica LIRR office that uses fingerprints to track employees' hours has been vandalized, according to the Office of the MTA Inspector General.

MTA Inspector General Carolyn Pokorny has launched an investigation after Long Island Rail Road officials on Tuesday found a cut cable in the new device, the New York Daily News reported.

"This office will have zero tolerance for any sabotaging of the equipment that is vital for ensuring the integrity of our timekeeping system," Pokorny said in a statement.

The MTA started installing the new biometric clocks at LIRR stations following a report that exorbitant overtime pay has driven up the agency's payroll expenses.

Today, after learning of an incident where a new biometric timekeeping clock being installed at the LIRR Jamaica Station had a wire cut, MTA Inspector General Carolyn Pokorny inspected the scene as part of an investigation by MTA Police & MTA IG. pic.twitter.com/XCgS3xlfhh
— MTA Inspector General (@mtaoig) June 5, 2019

Traditional employee time-keeping systems that don't verify workers' identities are vulnerable to misuse, according to Pokorny.

"Punch card time-keeping clocks with no identity verification mechanism belong in the Transit Museum, not a modern rail yard," Pokorny said in a statement.

The Office of the MTA Inspector General oversees MTA operations and investigates fraud and abuse. It is independent of the transit authority's board and management.