By Mary Velan
Gov1
Officials from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority are working to find and correct the causes of employee absenteeism. The authority has already begun making human resources hires and may bring in an outside manager to find a solution to the costly problem.
According to the MBTA, the authority dropped 34,702 trips - nearly 2 percent of the 1.8 million trips scheduled - between January and August in 2015. Of these dropped trips, 68.7 percent were due to operator absence, the Boston Globe reported.
To remedy this persistent problem, the MBTA has developed a process that tracks long-term employee absences. The authority will fill a leave-management position that has been vacant for two years, and may outsource further management to get reduce rates significantly.
One MBTA official explained that filling in for absences by scheduling other employees for overtime is more cost-effective than making new hires for about 98 days. However, this strategy leave employees vulnerable to being overworked, which can hamper the quality of customer service, the Boston Globe reported.
If the MBTA continues to hire new workers at a steady rate of 200 more than those leaving the authority, all positions could be filled within two years. The MBTA is also looking to remedy the absentee problem with:
- Better procedures for shifting work schedules on the fly
- Additional hires
- Better management of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
The authority reported 47 percent of unscheduled absences from January through August were attributed to the FMLA leave policy. Officials want to improve management of the FMLA leave policy to ensure workers are not taking advantage of the benefits associated with the law.
In fiscal 2015, unscheduled absences cost the MBTA $7 million in overtime, while vacancies cost the authority $4 million and scheduled absences cost $3 million. Inclement weather accounted for $12 million in agency spending, the Boston Globe reported.