Allied Universal and the companies it absorbed have paid more than $208 million across over 260 enforcement records since 2000, with the bulk of the money tied to wage and hour class actions in California and federal Department of Labor investigations. The Allied Universal lawsuit settlements on record range from a $130 million meal-break deal to smaller six-figure resolutions of pregnancy and religious discrimination claims, and several matters remain open heading into 2026.1Violation Tracker. Allied Universal Security Services
The Largest Wage and Hour Settlements
The biggest payout came in 2019, when G4S Secure Solutions, later acquired by Allied Universal, agreed to pay up to $130 million to resolve a California class action brought by roughly 13,500 security guards. The guards claimed they were routinely denied the meal and rest breaks California law requires, effectively working through breaks without compensation.2Law360. Security Co to Pay $130M to Settle Guards’ Meal Break Suit3iFight For Your Rights. Top 5 Largest Wage and Hour Settlements
In 2017, U.S. Security Associates, another company later folded into Allied Universal, settled an eight-year-old federal wage lawsuit for $21 million. The case, Abdullah v. U.S. Security Associates, was filed in 2009 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of a certified class of security guards.4Law360. Security Guards Seek to Settle 8-Yr Wage Suit for $21M
The year before, AlliedBarton Security Services, one of the two companies whose 2016 merger created Allied Universal, settled Dynabursky v. AlliedBarton Security Services for $11 million. The class covered all non-exempt hourly employees who worked for the company in California between April 2004 and January 2015, and members received pro-rata payments tied to weeks worked without needing to file a claim.5Top Class Actions. AlliedBarton Settles Wage Class Action Lawsuit $11M
A more recent California case, Hakeem v. Universal Protection Service, produced a $10 million gross settlement fund for current and former non-exempt employees who worked in the state between November 2017 and February 2020. The claims covered unpaid wages and overtime, meal and rest break violations, record-keeping failures, and penalties under California’s Private Attorneys General Act. Class members did not have to submit a claim form; payments were calculated automatically based on pay periods worked during the covered period.6CPT Group. Hakeem v. Universal Protection Service Settlement Agreement
The Kronos Ransomware Wage Case
A December 2021 ransomware attack on the Kronos timekeeping and payroll system used by Allied Universal triggered a separate wave of pay complaints. When Kronos went down, the company allegedly estimated workers’ hours using scheduled shifts, prior paychecks, or “reduced payroll estimates” that failed to account for actual overtime, shift differentials, and bonuses. A proposed class and collective action, Jones v. C&D Security Management, was filed in April 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and California labor laws.7ClassAction.org. Allied Universal Security Failed to Properly Pay Workers Following Kronos Data Breach, Lawsuit Alleges There is no public record of a settlement or class certification ruling in that case as of early 2026.8ClassAction.org. Jones v. C&D Security Management Complaint
Federal Department of Labor Enforcement
In October 2023, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that Universal Protection Service, doing business as Allied Universal, had been automatically deducting 45 minutes for meal breaks from security workers’ pay even though the workers were required to remain at their posts and never actually got a break. The company was ordered to pay nearly $1.1 million: $549,947 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 778 workers assigned to Amazon’s Seattle headquarters, plus $50,000 in civil penalties.9U.S. Department of Labor. Allied Universal Security Services Wage and Hour Violations
The agency also disclosed that in the five years leading up to that announcement, it had investigated Allied Universal roughly 200 times nationwide and found Fair Labor Standards Act violations in most of those cases. The company entered a nationwide enhanced compliance agreement as part of the resolution.9U.S. Department of Labor. Allied Universal Security Services Wage and Hour Violations
Discrimination Settlements
In September 2023, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs entered into a conciliation agreement with Allied Universal over alleged systemic racial discrimination in hiring at a Houston facility formerly operated by G4S Secure Solutions. A routine compliance evaluation found that between January 2016 and December 2017, the facility’s hiring practices for security officer positions discriminated against Black applicants in violation of Executive Order 11246. Allied Universal agreed to pay $411,000 in back wages to 1,459 affected Black applicants, extend job offers to 28 of them as positions became available, and revise its recruiting and selection procedures.10Fox 26 Houston. Allied Universal Agrees to Pay $411,000 in Back Wages to 1,459 Black Applicants11U.S. Department of Labor. OFCCP News Releases
In March 2021, the company paid $110,000 to resolve a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit brought by the EEOC on behalf of a Louisiana security guard. According to the agency, after learning of the guard’s pregnancy, Allied Universal transferred her to a more strenuous post. When she reported pain, the company asked for a doctor’s note, then placed her on involuntary leave. Even after she provided a medical release to return, the company kept her off the job for over a month before firing her. A three-year consent decree required Allied Universal to conduct training and report regularly to the EEOC.12EEOC. Allied Universal to Pay $110,000 to Settle EEOC Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit
In an earlier case resolved by the EEOC’s Los Angeles district office, Universal Protection Service (doing business as Allied Universal) paid $90,000 to settle a religious discrimination suit on behalf of a Muslim security guard who asked for an accommodation to the company’s grooming standards. The guard was fired two days after making the request. The settlement also required the company to hire an equal employment monitor, revise its religious accommodation policies, provide annual training, and report to the EEOC.13EEOC. Security Services Company to Pay $90,000 to Settle EEOC Religious Discrimination Suit
New York Prevailing Wage Recovery
In 2024, New York Attorney General Letitia James and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander secured $229,718 from Allied Universal for underpaying seven security guards at the +Art condominium at 540 West 28th Street in Chelsea, Manhattan. Between September 2016 and February 2019, the company failed to pay the prevailing wage required under a tax-break program, depriving some guards of nearly $30,000 each in supplemental benefits. The full recovery, including interest, went to the workers. Allied Universal was also required to audit its contracts at all other New York City buildings and annually certify to the attorney general’s office that it was paying the prevailing wage at properties receiving the same tax benefit.14New York Attorney General. Attorney General James and Comptroller Lander Secure Nearly $230,000
401(k) Fee Overcharge Settlement
A class action alleging Allied Universal overcharged workers on their retirement accounts is currently moving through the courts. In Tsui v. Universal Services of America, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, workers alleged the company failed to properly monitor and control annual administrative fees in its 401(k) plan. The proposed $1.4 million settlement covers approximately 53,000 people who participated in the plan since June 2016. The settlement motion described the amount as representing more than 23% of estimated total losses.15Bloomberg Law. Allied Universal Retirement Fee Suit Settles for $1.4 Million
Judge John W. Holcomb granted preliminary approval on December 15, 2025.16Bloomberg Tax. Allied Universal’s $1.4 Million 401(k) Settlement Gets Thumbs Up Plaintiffs filed their motion for final approval and attorney fees in March 2026, and a final approval hearing is scheduled for September 23, 2026.17PACER Monitor. Nickolas Tsui et al v. Universal Services of America, LP et al
G4S Antitrust Guilty Plea
One of the more unusual entries in the record is criminal. In July 2021, G4S Secure Solutions NV, the Belgian arm of G4S, which Allied Universal was in the process of acquiring, pleaded guilty to conspiring to rig bids, allocate customers, and fix prices for defense-related security services provided in Belgium to the U.S. Department of Defense. The company agreed to pay a $15 million criminal fine. The DOJ described the resolution as the first case obtained by its Procurement Collusion Strike Force.18U.S. Department of Justice. United States v. G4S Secure Solutions NV19MLex. Belgium’s G4S Secure Solutions to Plead Guilty, Pay $15 Million for Price Fixing
Pending Biometric Privacy Case
In May 2024, a former security guard named Bianca Allen filed a proposed class action against Allied Universal in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleging violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. The complaint claimed the company required employees to provide face scans for timekeeping and location-tracking purposes without giving the notice or obtaining the consent BIPA requires, and that it shared biometric data with third-party service providers without employees’ knowledge.20Bloomberg Law. Allied Universal Hit With Biometric Suit Over Face Scan System The case was still in its early stages as of the most recent available reporting. In 2025, the company’s subsidiary Universal Protection Service also received an OSHA penalty of $118,230 for a workplace safety violation.1Violation Tracker. Allied Universal Security Services
Which Company Paid What
Several of the largest settlements above were originally brought against companies that no longer exist as independent entities. Allied Universal was formed in August 2016 through the merger of AlliedBarton Security Services and Universal Services of America.21Warburg Pincus. Allied Universal22Security Sales & Integration. Allied Universal Seals Deal for G4S23Wall Street Journal. Allied Universal Set to Create Private Security Giant With G4S Deal Under the current corporate structure, the North American business uses the Allied Universal brand while the international operations continue to trade as G4S, and both fall under the same parent whose enforcement history is described above.24Allied Universal. Our Story