Summit’s Low Standards Shortchange Clients and Workers
Although Summit management has been quoted as being in support of higher wages and benefits as “the key to retaining security officers,” Summit security officers working at JP Morgan-owned buildings make as little as $8.50 an hour with inadequate training and benefits. This means that some Summit officers fall below the federal poverty line and qualify for public assistance.
Summit Neglected 9/11 Heroes in Time of Need
Nine Summit Security officers died in the attacks on the World Trade Center. Those who survived were cut-off Summit’s payroll within 24 hours—adding financial stress to their severe psychological trauma. Summit’s behavior towards its employees was in sharp contrast with other contractors in the Trade Center, who worked with SEIU 32BJ to continue to provide wages and benefits to workers in the months following the attacks.
Summit Violates Federal and State Law
Pending NLRB Investigation
- The NLRB is currently investigating charges that Summit illegally recognized Allied International Union even though a majority of the workers signed cards in support of SEIU 32BJ.
Violations of the Security Guard Act
- A 2002 Department of State audit found that Summit employed 10 unregistered security guards and 13 unregistered support staff in violation of the Security Guard Act; the company settled with the DOS for $6,000.
- In a case filed in Nassau County Supreme Court in 2004, a former Long Island regional manager alleged that he was retaliated against by Summit for reporting an individual in violation of the Security Guard Act during a personnel audit. The audit was specifically requested by Summit client, JPMorgan Chase.
Wage and Hour Violations in New York and New Jersey
- Summit has paid over $63,000 for violations in New York since 2002. In a 2004 case, Summit paid out $27,000 for 33 employees.
- The New Jersey Department of Labor ordered the company to pay $1,000 in penalties for violations in 2005 and 2006.
Summit Security Guards’ Sexual Harassment Claims
- On March 1, 2007, The New York Post covered the story of Esther Jafar, a Summit security officer at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, who says she was harassed by the ushers there ever since she was first assigned to the site in September 2006. According to the Post, when she complained to the security chief in February 2007, she was ordered to not work there again and not reassigned by Summit until the Post ran its article. She then received a new assignment, back pay, and a raise.
- After Jafar’s story was covered in the Post, Evelyn Hernandez and Juana Tavares, two Summit security guards at 1 New York Plaza, came forward. According to a March 12th Post article, they accuse their supervisor of sexual harassment and filed charges with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
- A fourth woman, Tanya Rivera, has also come forward to the Post to say that she was harassed while working for Summit-- first at New York Plaza, and then at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where she was harassed by the same usher who harassed Esther Jafar.
|
