On August 28, 2020, the Chicago law firm DeBlasio & Gower LLC filed a collective and class action lawsuit on behalf of two former security officers against American Public Defense Inc. and others for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Illinois Minimum Wage Law.

Defendant American Public Defense Inc. (APD) is a security guard company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, that provides security services throughout the Northern District of Illinois.

Plaintiffs allege that APD and others failed to pay overtime wages to its security officers of one and one-half times their regular hourly rate of pay for hours worked in excess of forty in a workweek.

The federal lawsuit includes allegations that:

  • APD failed to pay security officers their full wages and final compensation for hours worked, including, work hours logged but not paid by APD;
  • APD failed to pay security officers for required travel time, wait time and meetings at APD’s corporate headquarters in Chicago;
  • APD failed to reimburse security officers for necessary expenditures, such as for using their personal vehicles; and
  • APD made unauthorized deductions from the wages of its security officers, such as for uniforms and fines.

Join the Lawsuit.   Anyone who has worked for APD as a security officer in the past three (3) years may be eligible to join the lawsuit, including currently employed security officers.  Class members may be entitled to monetary damages, including unpaid wages, liquidated damages (i.e., double damages) and interest, among other relief.

What You Can Do.  If you have worked for APD as a security officer and have questions about your legal rights, including your right to join the lawsuit, please feel free to contact us for a free consultation via our webiste by clicking here  https://www.dgllc.net/contact/ or calling us at (630) 560-1124.   Qualified individuals have a right under federal law to join the lawsuit.  This FLSA collective action lawsuit is open to eligible current and former APD security officers who have performed work for APD at any time during the last three years.

DeBlasio & Gower LLC’s founding member, Attorney Antonio DeBlasio, has been selected by Super Lawyers® for Business Litigation in 2008 and in each year from 2014 through 2020. Only 5% of attorneys receive this distinction.