For the second year in a row, most of the people working the most overtime in New York City are rank-and-file workers tasked with responding to the Big Apple's $6 billion immigration crisis, The Post has found. Ta.
Of the 100 city employees with the most OTs in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 51 work in the Department of Social Services and Homeless Services, where their duties include immigrant assistance, This was discovered through a search of city payroll records.
Each worker accumulated at least 1,851 hours of additional pay.
Leading the way was Cashwain Barnett, a DSS bookkeeper who worked 3,303 hours of overtime at the DSS office in Manhattan. This works out to approximately 14 hours per day, 7 days per week. The 10-year veteran earned overtime pay of $164,760, more than three times his base salary of $60,445.
DSS caseworker Bardhan Pijush came in second with 3,137 hours of extra time, followed by DHS housekeeper Gavin McAuley with 2,664 hours of OT.
Last fiscal year, 47 employees from both divisions were included in the 100 most OT workers, a significant increase compared to 2022, when just three employees made the list. .
The immigration crisis has “drastically depleted” all of the city's resources, but the overtime and pay for DSS and DHS is “absolutely staggering,” City Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens) told the Post. .
“We simply cannot continue down this path,” he said. “This has to end, but taxpayers are tired of it.”
DSS and DHS employees have been particularly fatigued by the more than 226,900 asylum seekers and other border crossers who have arrived in the Big Apple since April 2022, which has led to many of their rapidly increasing workloads. of people have experienced it.
As of Friday, the city's immigration crisis response total was $6.5 billion, and as of Dec. 15, 53,800 immigrants were still receiving city care in taxpayer-funded shelters, city officials said. Ta.
Records show both agencies logged a staggering 2,959,114 total overtime hours in fiscal year 2024, with total payouts exceeding $139.4 million.
This is a staggering 67% increase compared to the 1,770,634 hours of overtime worked by DSS and DHS employees in fiscal year 2021, before the immigration crisis, and nearly double the $72.3 million that agency employees earned from temporary shifts. It became.
This is a 10% increase from fiscal year 2023, when agency staff collectively earned 2,690,659 additional hours of overtime, totaling $123.1 million.
Ken Girardin, director of research at the Empire Public Policy Center, a nonprofit think tank, warned that New York taxpayers are still being held accountable for the Biden administration's border mismanagement.
“This bill is still a work in progress. It will continue to be like this for at least another year,” he said.
When asked about the surge in OTs assisting migrants, DSS spokesperson Neha Sharma said she was “very grateful” to DSS staff. “Staff members have worked extremely hard and long hours to provide new arrivals and migrants with the support they need, despite truly unprecedented challenges,” he said. New Yorkers in long-term trouble. ”
“New York City is able to continue to do more to support asylum seekers than any other level of government, while providing more services and support to vulnerable New Yorkers because of our talented employees. Thank you,” she said.
Mr. Barnett and Mr. Pijash did not return messages. Mr. McCauley could not be reached for comment.
