A global insurance giant bilked the MTA out of as much as half a million dollars by charging for overtime during hours explicitly prohibited in its contract, the agency’s Inspector General said.
Insurance giant Willis Towers Watson, a company tasked with hiring and paying subcontractors to conduct safety inspections at MTA construction sites, in the first half of 2021 alone charged the MTA for $75,450 worth of illegitimate OT wages, the IG’s office said in a report released Friday.
The company’s filed for and received time-and-a-half for any hours worked outside of the regular business day, which is in violation of contractual language that site inspectors may only receive OT if they work over 40 hours in one week.
The inflated wages were approved by Willis and the MTA, which the report said relied on Willis’ “clearly lacking” review process.
Confronted by investigators, the MTA’s head of Risk and Insurance Management claimed his team paid the wages “in accordance with accepted practices of the construction industry in New York,” the report said.
hires and pays subcontractors to conduct safety inspections at MTA construction sites. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesWillis brought in $2.6 million from its MTA contract in the year ending this past November. IG investigators estimate the company has “potentially” overcharged $528,150 since its contract begin in 2017.
The site investigations conducted by subcontractors under Willis’ supervision are intended to prevent safety violations that could lead to injuries or property damage, which help contribute to the MTA’s astronomically high construction costs.
“Contract management and oversight is essential,” Acting Inspector General Elizabeth Keating said in a statement. “It falls upon MTA management to review contracts and invoices to keep contractors — and their subcontractors — accountable.”
The MTA pledged to closer oversight of Willis in response to the IG’s findings.
“Ripping off taxpayers is unacceptable and to ensure it doesn’t happen going forward, all overtime incurred under this contract will need to be approved in advance,” spokesman Michael Cortez said in a statement.
“We’ve also accepted the Acting Inspector General’s recommendations to tighten invoice reviews and have already re-instructed the vendor involved on overtime pay rates and practices.”
Willis Towers Watson did not return a request for comment.
