Attorney General James Secures $400,000 for Underpaid New York City School Security Guards

NEW YORK – 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.

This case is the latest in Attorney General James’ efforts to protect workers’ wages and ensure employers know that they cannot misrepresent payroll records, delay payments, or create excuses to avoid meeting their legal obligations to their employees. In February 2025, Attorney General James secured $16.75 million from DoorDash for cheating delivery workers out of tips. In January 2025, Attorney General James recovered $1.1 million for Rikers Island cleaners cheated out of fair pay. In December 2024, Attorney General James recovered $4 million in withheld tips for former Drizly alcohol delivery workers. In September 2024, Attorney General James recovered $750,000 in stolen wages for cell phone company employees. In April 2024, Attorney General James secured nearly $230,000 for building employees cheated out of fair pay. In November 2023, Attorney General James recovered $328 million for Uber and Lyft drivers whose earnings were shortchanged for years. In August 2023, Attorney General James recovered $300,000 in unpaid wages for New York City nail salon workers. In March 2023, Attorney General James recovered $24,000 in stolen wages for former employees of a worker cooperative. In October 2022, Attorney General James secured $90,000 in stolen and unpaid wages for more than a dozen former employees of a commercial dry cleaner in Queens. In July 2022, Attorney General James delivered $500,000 to current and former employees of a Manhattan bar for enduring sexual harassment, discrimination, and wage theft. In May 2022, Attorney General James recovered more than $2.9 million for hundreds of New York City Marriott workers who were denied full severance pay.

This matter is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Michael, Assistant Attorney General Lawrence J. Reina, Legal Support Analyst Kenny Ip, Auditor Investigator Erica Ciccarelli, and Deputy Bureau Chief Young Lee under the supervision of Bureau Chief Karen Cacace, all of the Labor Bureau. The Labor Bureau is a part of the Division for Social Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.