California janitor earns more than a quarter million

November 8, 2016

A custodian who works for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system received more than $270,000 in total compensation last year, including more than $160,000 in overtime pay, according to Transparent California, a database of pay and retirement benefits.

Liang Zhao Zhang is listed as a system service worker for BART. The position is described as janitorial work.

In 2015, Zhang received $271,243 in total pay, even though his base salary was $57,945. Zhang collected $162,050 in overtime pay. Based on the amount of overtime he received, it appears Zhang worked an average of 114 hours a week.

Last year marked the third consecutive year Zhang’s overtime pay exceeded his base salary. Over the three-year span, Zhang received $682,000 in total compensation.

In 2014, Zhang was the only BART custodian to surpass $200,000 in total compensation. Last year, four BART janitors received compensation in excess of $200,000. Each of the four janitors received more compensation from their overtime pay than their salaries.

Robert Fellner, the research director for Transparent California, said the high concentration of overtime pay in a select few employees appears to violate BART guidelines, which state overtime should be rotated equally.

“In addition to violating guidelines, it’s hard to imagine how paying amounts so far in excess of the market wage for routine jobs like custodial workers can possibly be efficient,” Fellner said. “It’d be great if all janitors were paid $200k, but I seriously doubt many of BART’s riders — who must pay for this excess — are ever afforded that opportunity.”

Excluding benefits, in 2015, the average BART service worker received an average salary of $77,777. That was nearly triple the amount — $28,720 — earned by janitors statewide.

BART is currently asking voters to approve a $3.5 billion bond measure that is on Tuesday’s ballot.