Tribeca Contractor Underpaid Canine-Handling Guards at Staten Island Ferry by Five Figures
A Tribeca-based security contractor that provides guard services to the Staten Island Ferry has been cited by City Comptroller Brad Lander for underpaying its personnel by tens of thousands of dollars.
MSA Security, which is headquartered on Murray Street, has a contract with the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) worth more than $40 million to deploy officers and dogs as explosive detection teams at both terminals of the Staten Island Ferry, as well as aboard vessels.
Under State law, the Comptroller sets prevailing wage rates for various kinds of government procurement, including security guards. This law requires contractors to pay their employees not only a specific hourly rate, but also supplemental benefits such as health insurance and pension contributions. As an alternative providing these extras, a vendor can also satisfy the requirements of the law by paying workers a “supplemental benefit rate”—a dollar amount determined by the Comptroller to be equivalent in value to the benefits.
But an audit by Mr. Lander’s staff determined that MSA failed to pay this supplemental benefit to its staff at the Staten Island Ferry. Over the two-year period, the Comptroller says, dozens of guards missed out on a total more than $38,000 in extra pay. After adding penalties and interest to the back wages, the Comptroller’s office required MSA to pay slightly more than $57,000.
“Companies cannot expect to use loopholes to avoid paying workers, who in this case were contracted to keep our public transportation safe, from the benefits rightfully owed to them,” Mr. Lander said. “This settlement returns the value of those benefits to the security guards who patrol the ferry.”
In a statement posted to its website, the firm said, “MSA is committed to always acting ethically and providing quality services to our clients with integrity and professionalism, and in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and client requirements. It is also MSA’s policy to compete fairly and in accordance with all applicable procurement rules.”