Metro

Suspended PA cops still scoring OT pay

Port Authority cops have an unbelievable perk that other workers can only dream of — they can collect overtime for not working.

The bizarre benefit applies to officers suspected of misconduct who are suspended with pay and later cleared or found guilty of an infraction carrying a penalty that’s short of dismissal. Suspended officers can claim overtime if no formal charges are filed within 120 days.

The theoretical overtime these cops would have made during their suspensions is based on a formula in their union contract.

The agency could not say immediately how many cops have taken advantage of the perk and how much it’s cost.

Other gold-plated provisions of the contract include:

* The PA pays at least $60,000 in annual rent for the police union’s office in Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

* Officers who donate blood at the PA blood bank during normal work hours get the rest of the day off as “excused time.”

The seven-year collective bargaining agreement between the PA and the Port Authority Police PBA expired in January and negotiations are under way to hammer out a new deal.

Meanwhile, terms of the lapsed contract remain in effect.

The bistate agency has come under fire for granting excessive overtime and padding pensions. Twenty-seven of the top 100 retirees with the highest pensions in the NY State Retirement system are from the PA.

A PA spokesman said the agency wants a new labor contract that “continues to protect public safety while also protecting public money for decades to come.”

The PBA defended the OT provision, while confirming that management wants to eliminate it.

“I guess we did all right in negotiations. I will bargain to keep it,” said the PA’s PBA president, Paul Nunziato.

Nunziato blamed management for dragging its heels in resolving disciplinary cases, leaving his members “suspended unfairly” without pay.

“If a guy is wrong, he’s wrong. If he’s not wrong, he’s not wrong,” Nunziato said. “I’m looking for an expedited hearing process, so it’s a non-issue.”

Reining in overtime and pensions are hot topics with PA management, Nunziato said.

“They’re the ones generating the OT. They don’t have enough officers,” he said.

Nunziato said the PA helps cover the PBA office rent, but noted that other unions get free space at PA facilities to conduct union business.

And he said getting time off for donating blood has been in the contract for decades.

carl.campanile@nypost.com