Heartless fine slams janitor BROOKLYN — Monetary fines are supposed to put a little pain in your pocket to remind you about an infraction you have committed, but a SUNY Downstate facility janitor has been hit with a penalty so severe that it’s left him impoverished. Melson Hardy-Bey was slammed with a $15,000 fine for allegedly violating the terms of an agreement. Every month, $300 is taken from his paychecks. He earns about $30,000 annually. “(The penalties) are taking bread out of people’s mouths,” said Hardy-Bey. “There’s nothing on the books that say that they can take $15,000 for a violation.” The trouble started when Hardy- Bey was accused in early 2013 of a time and attendance issue that arose from a new sign-in protocol and related issues. However, if he entered into a side agreement, he would only receive a letter of reprimand. Hardy-Bey, fearful of being suspended without pay for weeks or months pending an arbitration case, agreed to the deal. The agreement called for six months of his salary, $15,000, to be held in abeyance for one year. If he committed the same or similar conduct, the fine would be imposed at the sole decision of the facility’s director of labor relations. Several months later, following a report from Hardy-Bey’s supervisor, the director of labor relations, Leonza Cuiman, found that Hardy-Bey violated the agreement when he “failed to complete his work assignment, i.e. removing coffee stains and scuff marks on the hallway floor, clean the bathrooms and changing area, clean outdoor equipment eliminating dirty water from the wet vacuum” and failing to sign out. While Hardy-Bey denied the allegations, Cuiman imposed the fine. CSEA is now arguing in a lawsuit that the alleged misconduct he was fined for is not the same or similar to those alleged in the earlier agreement. “I’ve never been written up for my job functions,” said Hardy-Bey, who had been promoted to a SUNY Downstate satellite office. “I deny these allegations, but if they must, suspend me for a week or two, but where is this $15,000 coming from?” “The penalty is an outrage. It is simply unfair to impose such a penalty on a working person, particularly during the worst recession since the Great Depression. If the Governor is opposed to raising taxes on the super wealthy then why is a $15,000 fine being levied on a State worker?” asked CSEA Metropolitan Region President Lester Crockett. More so, the log book procedure that originally drew the complaint is no longer in use. Hardy-Bey is trying to remain optimistic that he’ll prevail in fighting the penalty, but for now, the father of 10 children (some already grown) is counting every penny. “Most of the time, I’m broke or exhausted from trying to make up the money,” said Hardy-Bey. “I don’t see how $15,000 fits the crime, for some scuff marks and coffee stains and some residue on the wet vacuum. They are fining me like I broke some state equipment.” Hardy-Bey continues to maintain his innocence and would like to stop the $300 per month payments. “That’s a lot of money,” said Hardy-Bey, who has already paid about $4,000. “It’s half of my salary. We don’t get paid that much.” — David Galarza Melson Hardy-Bey, shown here on the job, is struggling to make ends meet because of a severe workplace penalty. 8 The Work Force June 2014
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