7 MassDOT employees on leave after TV news report into overtime

Seven Massachusetts Department of Transportation employees are on leave after a months-long investigation By Boston News 25 It found that high-income employees fudged timesheets to take advantage of overtime.

A MassDOT spokesman said it has launched an investigation, and the seven employees have been placed on administrative leave.

“MassDOT takes any allegation of incorrectly reporting work time very seriously. Not only do we expect all employees to accurately report work time and supervisors to properly review and certify time records — it’s the law,” a MassDOT spokesperson said. “If anyone is found to have intentionally misreported their time or misused taxpayer dollars, they will be held accountable.”

After a 231-day undercover investigation, Boston 25 News reported that the highest-earning highway maintenance workers in Massachusetts are concentrated at a MassDOT District Six facility in Charlestown.

Reporters recorded vehicle departure times from the Charlestown lot and compared them to schedules obtained through public records requests, finding that many high-income earners left their personal vehicles hours before their shifts ended.

Boston News 25 used employees’ cars as a way to track their actual work hours, including watching cars leave the yard and monitoring their cars outside their homes.

Highway Maintenance Worker II employees were at the center of a Boston 25 News investigation, including the highest earner in that group. In 2025, his base salary was about $84,000, but he earned $149,000 in overtime.

According to the report, when this man claimed he was working overtime until 3:30 p.m., his car left the facility before noon for several days. Another employee, who received $137,000 worth of overtime, was similarly seen leaving in his car, while his timesheet stated he was on the clock.

Another employee, who put in nearly 1,700 hours of overtime last year, earning an additional $100,000, was seen leaving the facility in his car on six different occasions.

Schedules indicated overtime for tasks such as weeding, pouring a “bench cushion,” organizing the yard, and washing and cleaning trucks.

When confronted by reporters, some workers declined to comment, while another, who earned $97,000 in overtime last year, said he worked the hours he logged.

“25 Investigators did not witness any employee returning to the yard after leaving in their personal vehicle,” the report said. “However, according to agency records, each overtime hour was approved by a supervisor.”

Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime and more.