The amount of overtime being paid out is staggering.
Employees, including supervisors and guards, at the New York City Department of Corrections earned a massive $363 million in overtime during the fiscal year that ended on June 30. This marks a 29% increase from the previous year, according to reports.
A significant number—58 out of the top 100 earners of overtime in the city—are from the DOC, particularly at Rikers Island and other facilities. This information comes from newly released salary records.
Despite Mayor Adams’ earlier instruction to limit overtime, each department still logged at least 1,800 hours of overtime in fiscal year 2025. That averages out to nearly 11 hours a day for every day of the year.
Leading the charge in overtime was Steamfitter Supervisor Alfonso Tarantino, who accumulated 2,105 hours of extra work, totaling $302,091 in overtime pay. His total income reached $453,556, nearly double the mayor’s salary, which is $258,750.
Correctional Officer Rod Marcel followed closely behind, racking up 2,877 hours of overtime for a pay of $288,241, bringing his total earnings to $436,252.
Only Jakub Murkowski, a supervising plumber for the New York City Housing Authority, outdid them both. He earned $331,814 from 2,558 hours of overtime, resulting in an overall salary of $465,034.
Kashwayne Barrett, a bookkeeper for the Department of Human Services, again topped all city employees in overtime hours, logging an impressive 3,421 hours—up from 3,303 last year. This translates to an average of more than 14 hours a day, which is quite extreme. Barrett earned $175,811 in overtime, more than triple her base salary of $60,409.
The Department of Corrections has reported a rise in daily detainee numbers, which have increased by 38% since fiscal year 2021, now at 6,823, while the number of correctional personnel has dropped by 31%, from 8,388 down to 5,777 over the same period.
Interestingly, while assaults on staff inside prisons have decreased by 36% since 2021, there’s been a 31% rise compared to 2024.
As for the city’s plans to close Rikers, agencies seem unprepared to tackle the directive to replace the troubled facility with four smaller jails, which can house just 3,544 detainees combined. City Councilman Robert Holden remarked that closing Rikers involves higher costs than necessary, especially given the staffing issues that cause correctional officers to work excessive hours to maintain operations.
Workers’ fatigue, as a result of this heavy overtime, poses a danger to both the staff and the detainees, and many believe it stems from prolonged mismanagement in the system. The Prison Officers’ Benevolent Association chose not to comment but previously indicated that employees work long hours due to a high turnover rate, with some even sleeping in their cars between shifts to avoid the commute.
In 2019, before the pandemic, DOC employees recorded 3,153,573 hours of overtime, costing taxpayers $181.8 million. There was a slight uptick over the next two years but a huge spike in fiscal year 2022 saw overtime hours soar to over 5 million, costing $259.8 million, with some workers clocking more than 100 hours a week.
Although the total overtime hours decreased to about 3.8 million by fiscal year 2024, the payout increased to $282.5 million due to salary increases. Last fiscal year, overtime hours for DOC employees reached 4,202,021, a 10.5% rise resulting in $363.4 million paid out.
The DOC acknowledged that staffing shortages in state prisons have led to a backlog of individuals unable to be transferred, contributing to the surging overtime costs. They are currently on the lookout for new recruits across the board.
