Hundreds of workers who cleaned subway cars during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic will receive a combined $3 million in back pay under a settlement announced Tuesday by City Comptroller Brad Lander.

What You Need To Know

  • Hundreds of workers who cleaned subway cars during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic will receive a combined $3 million in back pay under a settlement announced Tuesday by City Comptroller Brad Lander

  • The settlement ends a case against LN Pro Services, LLC and Fleetwash, Inc., two companies contracted by the MTA to disinfect subway cars between 2020 and 2021

  • More than 450 employees will receive back pay, according to the comptroller’s office

The settlement ends a case against LN Pro Services, LLC and Fleetwash, Inc., two companies contracted by the MTA to disinfect subway cars between 2020 and 2021.

Lander said the workers “performed a vital service and risked their own health at the height of the pandemic.”

“The court agreed with us that the workers were entitled to prevailing wages – a higher rate than what the NYCTA instructed its contractors to pay. Without these cleaners sanitizing and keeping our train system from piling up with debris, New York City would have had a much harder time getting moving again five years ago,” Lander said in a statement.

According to Lander, under the agreement, LN Pro will pay $2.4 million and Fleetwash will pay just over $600,000. The New York City Transit Authority will cover all of LN Pro’s settlement and 80% of Fleetwash’s payment, Lander’s office said.

More than 450 employees will receive back pay, according to the comptroller’s office.

Lander’s office sued the companies in February 2024, accusing them of “willfully failing to pay prevailing wages and supplements to their employees.”

The case stemmed from work performed during the overnight subway shutdown that began in May 2020, when the MTA hired hundreds of additional cleaners to conduct deep cleaning and disinfecting as New York City became the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Then-Comptroller Scott Stringer had notified the MTA that the work qualified for prevailing wages; however, Fleetwash and LN Pro, following guidance from NYC Transit, refused to pay, according to Lander’s office.

Lander’s office said LN Pro’s violations occurred from May 2020 to February 2021 at the Flatbush Avenue station in Brooklyn, serving the 2 and 5 lines, and the 179th Street station in Queens, serving the F line.

Fleetwash violations took place from May 2020 to April 2021 at the 8th Avenue–14th Street station in Manhattan, serving the L line, according to Lander.

NY1 has reached out to the MTA for comment.