Secured 24 Withheld Wages from Workers While Pocketing Extra Funds from Schools
New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced that her office has secured $400,000 from Secured 24, LLC (Secured 24) and its two principal owners for failing to pay its security guards the full prevailing wage that they were owed under the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services’ (DCAS) Non-Public School (NPS) security guard program. An Office of the Attorney General (OAG) investigation found that Secured 24 failed to pay more than 100 school security guards hundreds of thousands of dollars in prevailing wage benefits. At the same time, schools were reimbursing Secured 24 for security services under the assumption that the security guards were receiving their required wages and supplemental benefits.
“Secured 24 illegally withheld earned wages and benefits from hard-working New Yorkers who devoted their careers to keeping others safe,” said Attorney General James. “When employers fail to fulfill their legal obligations, they are both cheating their workers and undermining the integrity of our labor market. My office will always protect workers from wage theft and hold employers accountable for their obligations.”
Secured 24 was a security services company that provided security guards to non-public schools in New York City through the NPS program, which reimburses schools for security guard services. Under the program, security companies are required to pay their guards the prevailing wage rate, which includes supplemental benefits such as health insurance, retirement benefits, or paid sick leave.
Between 2016 and 2018, over 100 Secured 24 employees were unlawfully denied their rightful supplemental wages. Secured 24 certified payroll records and timesheets falsely indicating that it had paid its security guards the full prevailing wage, including supplemental benefits. These records were submitted to the contracted non-public school, which in turn sought reimbursement from DCAS. In 2018, a DCAS investigation found that Secured 24 had not included the required supplemental benefits in its payments to employees, in violation of city and state laws. DCAS subsequently filed a complaint with the New York City Department of Investigation (DOI), and in 2019, DOI subpoenaed financial records, payroll data, and contracts from Secured 24. DOI also interviewed former Secured 24 employees, who confirmed that they were not paid supplemental benefits. In 2022, DOI referred the case to OAG for further investigation. The OAG investigation confirmed that Secured 24 withheld benefits from its employees.
“DOI’s investigation found that this security guard company failed to pay its workers hundreds of thousands of dollars in supplemental benefits, as required by law; today the New York Attorney General acts to make those workers whole,” said DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber. “Companies who deprive their workers of lawful wages should take notice that we and our law enforcement partners will hold them accountable. I thank the Attorney General’s Office for its partnership in protecting workers in New York City.”
“The message here is clear: if you want to contract with the city, pay your employees correctly and follow our rules,” said DCAS Commissioner Louis A. Molina. “Everyone must pay their employees what they're owed, and thanks to a comprehensive review of this company by our audit team, we were able to identify benefit inaccuracies quickly, and took action.”
The company’s two principal owners will each pay $200,000 in restitution to former employees over a two-year period. A total of $400,000 will be distributed to eligible security guards who were deprived of their supplemental benefits.
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