Last week we were impressed by MTA bus dispatcher Giovanni Bonanno's brazenness in calling out sick for ten days straight while on vacation in Florida. Now it's being reported that Bonanno is hardly alone in expoiting the Family and Medical Leave Act, which requires workers "to provide documentation from a physician, nurse, physical therapist or other health care provider that they or an immediate family member have a qualifying condition." A second bus dispatcher on Staten Island pulled the same trick—while on vacation in Puerto Rico.
MTA officials tell the Daily News that bus dispatcher James Padilla was vacationing in the Caribbean when he called out sick on Thursday, April 1st, and Friday, April 2nd. It worked out well for him (at first) because his scheduled vacation began that Monday. But supervisors somehow found out, and his pay is being docked 30% for a month. "Most of our employees are unsung heroes, like the Staten Island bus operator who pulled a man from a burning car this week," says MTA Chairman Jay Walder. "The only way to protect them and taxpayers is to go after the people who abuse the system."
