PPA Security Officers Allege Illegal โWage Deductions in Class-Action Lawsuit
A class-action โฃlawsuitโ wasโ filed this week in U.S. District โCourt โฃin Philadelphia accusing the Philadelphiaโฃ Parking Authority โ(PPA) of violating labor laws by โdeducting time from security officers’ paychecks โfor breaks they are required to work.
The โsuit,โฃ brought by terrez McCleary, a PPA security officer since 2018, claims the โPPA is in violationโฃ of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as two Pennsylvania stateโค labor laws. McCleary andโ other security officersโข are responsibleโ for monitoring and securing PPA impoundment lots throughout the city,including โa facility on Oregon Avenue.
According to the lawsuit, PPA policyโข mandates 30-minute โฃmeal and restโ breaks for all security โขofficers,โ but these breaks are โnot truly free. Officers are required to remain at their assigned posts,continuing to monitor vehicle and pedestrian โtraffic,assist customers,and operate the entry and exit โgates of โthe impoundment lotsโข during this time. The lawsuit argues these breaks are “illusory” and that deducting the timeโค from paychecks is illegal.
The legal team at Pond Lehocky Giordano, representing McCleary, believes the suit applies toโ a โclass โคof at โคleast 20-30 โcurrent security officers. This number could considerably increase if former employees from the past three years โare included, as that is the timeframe for filing a collective claim.
The lawsuit alleges theโฃ PPA’s โactions were โintentional and have resulted in the deprivation of regular wages โand overtime pay that would have been earned had the break time not beenโ deducted. McCleary reportedly voiced her concernsโ to her supervisor on multiple occasions, but her complaints were dismissed. The suit further alleges thatโค when McCleary informed her supervisorโ she intended to โฃseek legal counsel,โ he responded โฃby “laughing at her.”
The lawsuit seeks aโ jury trial and โคrequests theโ court certify McCleary as the representative of the โขclass of security officers. Itโฃ also โฃrequests damages for all unpaid wages, attorney fees, and other appropriate restitution.
The PPAโฃ declined to comment on the pending litigation when contactedโข tuesday.