NEW YORK CITY — It's not a bad excuse.
A city worker who faced a disciplinary trial for being late for his job 53 times in an 18-month period blamed most of his tardiness on the MTA's delay-plagued subway system.
Corey Bryant, a clerical associate at the Human Resources Administration, gave that excuse to city administrative judge Noel Garcia during his trial, saying "a lot of times ... it was the train" and he shouldn't be penalized.
Indeed, subway delays have been on the rise in recent years. But Garcia didn't buy the excuse, noting Bryant's superiors counseled him several times about his excessive tardiness and that he never provided any proof from the MTA that there were delays on the lines he took on his late days.
"Both our case law and common sense supports a determination that the 53 latenesses in a span of 18 months, most attributed to undocumented transit-delays, was excessive," Garcia said in his decision.
The 53 instances of tardiness occurred between May 2014 and October 2015 and totaled 907 minutes — or about 15 hours — in missed work, according to the decision.
Bryant also said that a knee injury he suffered that caused him to walk slowly also contributed to his lateness. But Garcia said in his decision that Bryant — who had until 10 a.m. to get to work — didn't give a legitimate answer to why he just didn't start his commute earlier.
"When [Bryant] was asked what reason he had for not leaving his residence at an earlier hour, [Bryant] sarcastically answered, 'It's called sleep,' demonstrating a general defiance of the timeliness rules," the judge said in his decision.
Bryant was also on trial for making threatening statements and discourteous behavior, including saying to a supervisor, "You better get away from me, lady," after she asked him to lower his voice during a phone call. Ultimately, Garcia recommended in his decision that Bryant be fired.
Bryant appealed the decision to the City Civil Service Commission. But earlier this month, the commission upheld Garcia's decision that Bryant be terminated.
Bryant's lawyer, Michael Coviello, declined to comment on the decision.
