LIRR Adopts Fingerprint Technology For Employees

In a project that is expected to include 80 Long Island Rail Road facilities where employees clock in and out, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s LIRR has announced its plan to start tracking employee attendance through fingerprint timeclocks. To improve time clock accuracy, employees would scan their fingerprints to clock in and out at the beginning and end of each shift. While LIRR officials claim that the move was not sparked by instances of fraud or time sheet forgeries, NY’s state Controller is set to release two audit reports today that will spotlight a profound need for improvement in LIRR and Metro North attendance tracking.

New York State Controller, Thomas DiNapoli, issued a statement that said the following. “There’s significant room for improvement in how Metro North and LIRR monitor the hours their employees work,” and that these problem areas could be resulting in thousands of dollars in losses.  In addition to the “fraud, waste and abuse” that has likely resulted from poor management, the Controller notes that the lack of effective time tracking has placed undue burden on the company’s human resource department. To cite an example of areas where improvement could be seen, the Controller cited a report that focused on a small sampling of 11 LIRR workers. The report claims that engineering department supervisors used work schedules to prepare employee time sheets, instead of relying on actual real-time data.

Regardless of the impetus for the changes, all parties involved are hoping that the biometric time clock technology will increase accuracy, improve efficiency and reduce the burden of employee tracking on human resources.