State agency posts law affecting MTA

The state Department of Labor has posted the notice the law requires companies to issue before the MTA pulls financing from Long Island Bus, which is expected to change hands at year's end and be operated by a private bus company.

The posting, which appears on the Department of Labor's website, complies with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which requires employers to give warning of plant closings and mass layoffs.

It comes amid ongoing talks between Nassau County and Veolia Transportation, the private firm that is likely to take over operation of the bus service starting Jan. 1, when a contract with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority expires.

The notice said that up to 981 employees could be laid off when the business closes. However, Veolia has already promised to give preferential hiring to those workers already employed by Long Island Bus.

"There are no surprises here," said Jamie Horwitz, a spokesman for the Transport Workers Union Local 252, which represents the LI Bus employees and is waiting to negotiate a contract with whomever ends up running the transportation service. "We've been waiting since April. This notice was expected ever since the MTA voted to sever its arrangement with Nassau County."

"The administration will be forwarding a contract to the Legislature in the coming days that saves taxpayers $26 million annually, while restoring the MTAs planned route cuts and maintaining fares," said Katie Grilli-Robles, a spokeswoman for Nassau County.

Veolia officials could not be reached to comment last night.