Fired MBTA Driver Also Worked At Boston Housing Authority

BOSTON (CBS) - The T driver fired after an accident at the Boylston Street station last week also worked at the Boston Housing Authority, WBZ-TV has confirmed.

Lydia Argo of Boston Housing Authority said James Marshall has been employed as an overnight public safety dispatcher for 26 years, and remains on the payroll.

According to Argo, the BHA was aware that he also worked for the MBTA. She is confident that the job did not interfere with his work at BHA.

Marshall earns an annual salary of $40,136 at BHA. WBZ has learned Marshall earned $66,361 in 2011 from the MBTA.

Argo said Marshall has never had any problems at BHA, and as long as a second job does not interfere with an employee's work at BHA, they have no problem with it.

Sources tell WBZ-TV he had been working inside the dispatch center just hours before the crash.

The MBTA GM said he is not sure the T can legislate what people do outside of work, and supported current MBTA policy that does not require workers to disclose any second job.

We took a closer look, and found other mass transit systems do have a say in what drivers do outside of work.

Take for example Los Angeles, where operators need written approval before taking another job and must submit daily log of all hours worked.

In New York, operators need written approval before taking another job. Second jobs are approved on case-by-case basis, and employees must get 8 hours rest between jobs.

The Chicago Transit Authority tells us workers there have to have second jobs approved by the authority.

WBZ-TV brought these finding back to the MBTA  general manager and he says he'll now take a closer look at the T's rules about second jobs.

"As a result of this particular incident we will take a look at that policy and see if it needs to be revised," Jonthan Davis said. "I do want to reiterate that we expect all of our employees show up fit for duty they have a self responsibility to make sure when they come into the authority to perform their functions, they perform it in a safe manner."