AlliedBarton Security Services LLC agreed to pay more than $1.3 million in wages and interest due to 143 armed security workers for the company's failure to pay prevailing wages, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer said.
The Bureau of Labor Law in Stringer's office brokered the agreement.
The guards were deployed in New York City Transit offices throughout the five boroughs.
"Nearly 150 security guards across the city were getting paid at different rates and losing out on crucial benefits," Stringer said in a statement.
Prompted by employee inquiries, the bureau investigated underpayments to employees from October 2010 through March 2013. Prevailing wage rates had increased from just over $27 an hour in wages and benefits on the 2009 prevailing wage schedule to about $32.50 by 2012.
AlliedBarton initially used the correct prevailing wage rate schedule set by the comptroller's office in the first year of its multi-year contract with New York City Transit, a unit of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
AlliedBarton, however, continued to pay the same wages and benefits over the life of its contract — relying upon an old policy of the New York State Department of Labor. The comptroller's policy requires rates on existing contracts to match the most up-to-date wage schedule.
AlliedBarton, which has furnished uniformed armed security guard services for transit office locations since April 2008, will also pay an additional $26,759 in civil penalties as part of the non-willful violation.
Since January, Stringer has assessed more than $4 million in prevailing wage violations, including over $250,000 in penalties payable to the city treasury.
