Under Section 1269-g of the Public Authorities Law, a contractor who has entered
into a public works contract with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), and
all of its subcontractors, must post and distribute specified information about
certain laws to their employees working on the project. The laws are:

• The New York False Claims Act, Sections 187-194 of the State Finance
Law, which encourages citizens to assist New York State and local gov-
ernments to detect and stop fraud.

 

• Section 740 of the New York Labor Law, which protects from retaliation
employees who have reported illegal conduct that threatens the public
health or safety, first to their supervisor, and then to a federal, state, or
local governmental body.

Contractor and Subcontractor Disclosure
Obligations Under Public Authorities Law 1269-G

Set forth below is the information that contractors and subcontractors must disclose to their employees. We
also have prepared a sample notice, entitled "Protections for Reporting Fraud in New York," which contains
this information. A contractor or a subcontractor may use this sample notice to comply with its obligations
under Section 1269-g(1) to post information at workplace sites; to post information on its website if it has one
(or to provide a hyperlink to the MTA's website); and, to distribute information (through employee handbooks
or email) to their employees who perform work on the contract.

INFORMATION THAT CONTRACTORS AND SUBCONTRACTORS MUST DISCLOSE
Reporting fraud or other illegal activity

Fraud or other illegal activity may be reported to:

 

New York State Attorney General
Public Integrity Bureau
120 Broadway, 22nd Floor
New York, New York 10005

Office of the Inspector General
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Two Penn Plaza, 5th Floor
New York, New York 10121

24-Hour Complaint Hotline
1-800-MTA-IG4U
1-800-682-4448
Public Integrity Hotline
1-800-428-9072

New York's False Claims Act
New York's False Claims Act (State Finance Law §§ 187-194) generally prohibits any person from knowingly
submitting a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval to any state or local government agency,
including the MTA.

Any person may report to the Attorney General information relating to what he or she believes to be a possible
false or fraudulent claim submitted to the MTA. The Attorney General may investigate and bring a civil action
against anyone who has violated the law. A person or company found liable under the False Claims Act must
generally pay treble damages and civil penalties, plus costs and attorneys' fees.
In addition, the False Claims Act authorizes any person to start a lawsuit against any person or company who
has submitted to the MTA a false or fraudulent claim. If the suit is successful, that person may share in whatever money the MTA recovers. This citizens law suit is called a  qui tam action. It is an important tool that enables citizens to help New York State and public authorities such as the MTA recover money or property lost through fraud or corruption.

Filing a qui tam action

A  qui tam action must be filed with the court under seal to give the Attorney General and the MTA a chance
to investigate the allegations of fraud. Depending on the case, the Attorney General might intervene and take
over the case altogether, allow the  qui ta m plaintiff to take part, or allow the  qui tam plaintiff to handle it on
his or her own.

A person may commence a qui tam law suit without using an attorney. However, the procedures are complicated and must be carefully followed. Most qui tam plaintiffs rely on an attorney who specializes in and has experience with False Claims Act cases. In addition to sharing in a percentage of the amount of any recovery, a person who starts a qui tam action may be eligible to recover attorneys' fees plus other costs and expenses.

Prohibitions on employer retaliation
New York State law prohibits an employer from discharging, demoting, suspending, threatening, harassing,
or otherwise discriminating against an employee because that employee has lawfully reported what he or
she believes to be fraudulent or illegal conduct to the Attorney General or started a  qui tam action under
the False Claims Act.

New York State's Labor Law also prohibits an employer from discharging, suspending, demoting , or otherwise retaliating against an employee because that employee has disclosed to a supervisor illegal conduct that creates and presents substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or who discloses such illegal conduct to a public body (including the Attorney General or the MTA Inspector General) after first disclosing it to a supervisor.