N.Y. General Business Law 89-G – Employment of security guards
§ 89-g. Employment of security guards. 1. Except as provided in this section and section eighty-nine-w of this article, no security guard company shall knowingly employ a person as a security guard and no person shall be employed as a security guard or act as a security guard unless:
Terms Used In N.Y. General Business Law 89-G
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Department: shall mean the department of state. See N.Y. General Business Law 89-F
- Division: shall mean the division of criminal justice services. See N.Y. General Business Law 89-F
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Registration card: shall mean a photographic identification card issued by the department, including a special armed guard registration card signifying that the individual identified thereon has been authorized by the department to perform security guard functions. See N.Y. General Business Law 89-F
- Secretary: shall mean the secretary of state. See N.Y. General Business Law 89-F
- Security guard: shall mean a person, other than a police officer, employed by a security guard company to principally perform one or more of the following functions within the state:
a. See N.Y. General Business Law 89-F - Security guard company: shall mean any person, firm, limited liability company, corporation, public entity or subsidiary or department of such firm, limited liability company, corporation or public entity employing one or more security guards or being self-employed as a security guard on either a proprietary basis for its own use or on a contractual basis for use by another person, firm, limited liability company, corporation, public entity or subsidiary thereof within the state. See N.Y. General Business Law 89-F
- Serious offense: shall mean any felony involving the offenses enumerated in the closing paragraph of this subdivision; a criminal solicitation of or a conspiracy to commit or an attempt to commit or a criminal facilitation of a felony involving the offenses enumerated in the closing paragraph of this subdivision, which criminal solicitation, conspiracy, attempt or criminal facilitation itself constitutes a felony or any offense in any other jurisdiction which if committed in this state would constitute a felony; any offense in any other jurisdiction which if committed in this state would constitute a felony provided that for the purposes of this article, none of the following shall be considered criminal convictions or reported as such: (i) a conviction for which an executive pardon has been issued pursuant to the executive law; (ii) a conviction which has been vacated and replaced by a youthful offender finding pursuant to Article seven hundred twenty of the criminal procedure law, or the applicable provisions of law of any other jurisdiction; or (iii) a conviction the records of which have been sealed pursuant to the applicable provisions of the laws of this state or of any other jurisdiction; and (iv) a conviction for which other evidence of successful rehabilitation to remove the disability has been issued. See N.Y. General Business Law 89-F
a. The security guard company has verified with the department that such person possesses a valid registration card which has not expired or been revoked or suspended; or
b. Such security guard company has filed with the department in a manner prescribed by rules and regulations promulgated by the department, by certified mail:
(i) An application for a registration card completed and sworn to by such person pursuant to subdivision one of section eighty-nine-h of this article;
(ii) A certification by the security guard company that it has exercised due diligence to verify as true the information contained in such person's application;
(iii) A certification that such person has completed the preassignment training required by subdivision two of section eighty-nine-h of this article;
(iv) Two photographs of such person taken within thirty days prior to the filing of the application of a size prescribed by the secretary and two sets of fingerprints of such person. The fingerprints shall be taken on a standard fingerprint card approved by the division; and
(v) The fees prescribed by subdivision ten of section eighty-nine-h of this article.
2. It shall be incumbent upon each security guard company to exercise due diligence in verifying that the information contained in every application for a registration card it files with the department is true provided, however, the secretary shall, upon consultation with the security guard advisory council, promulgate rules and regulations to specify the minimum due diligence required to be exercised by such companies in order to verify the information required pursuant to subdivisions five and seven of section eighty-nine-h of this article.
3. Except as provided in § 752 of the correction law, no security guard company shall knowingly employ to perform security guard functions, any individual:
a. who has been convicted of a serious offense, or of a misdemeanor in the state or of any offense in any other jurisdiction which, if committed in this state, would constitute a misdemeanor, and which, in the discretion of the secretary, bears such a relationship to the performance of the duties of a security guard, as to constitute a bar to employment; or
b. who in any jurisdiction has been denied authorization to perform security guard functions or whose authorization to perform security guard functions has been suspended or revoked on grounds which would constitute a basis for denying, suspending or revoking a registration card in this state.
4. For each security guard employed by a security guard company as of the effective date of this section such security guard company shall at a time assigned by the secretary, pursuant to a staggered schedule, comply with the provisions of paragraphs a and b of subdivision one of this section and the provisions of section eighty-nine-n of this article. Until the assigned filing date, such security guard company may continue to employ such person to perform security guard functions. No security guard company may employ such person after the assigned filing date which has not complied with the provisions of paragraphs a and b of subdivision one of this section with respect to such person.
5. Within fifteen calendar days following the employment, retirement, resignation or termination of a security guard by a security guard company, such company shall give the department written notice thereof on a form prescribed by the department.
6. Insurance requirements. All security guard companies which are self-insured shall file with the department a certificate of insurance evidencing comprehensive general liability coverage from an insurance company licensed to do business in this state or procured by a duly licensed excess line broker pursuant to § 2118 of the insurance law for death and personal injury, which coverage shall include false arrest or false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, libel, slander, and violation of right of privacy, in the minimum amount of one hundred thousand dollars per occurrence and three hundred thousand dollars in the aggregate which amount shall be available for the payment of claims. The certificate shall provide that the insurance shall not be modified or cancelled unless thirty days prior notice shall be given to the department. After the effective date of this article, no security guard company shall knowingly have in its employ a security guard unless such coverage is in force and such certificate is filed with the department.
7. Every security guard company shall maintain for each security guard it employs, and for a period of one year following the retirement, resignation or termination of such security guard's employment a copy of the application for a registration card, proof of due diligence to verify the information therein contained, one photograph and training records, after which year the security guard company shall cause all such records and documents to be destroyed.
8. All security guard companies, except those security guard companies which employ such guards solely for their own proprietary use, shall be subject to the enforcement provisions contained in article seven of this chapter; provided, however, that whenever the secretary of state shall have reason to believe that any security guard company has hired or intends to hire an unlicensed security guard in violation of this article, the secretary may bring an action in supreme court to enjoin the employment of unlicensed security guards in violation of this article or for an order directing the security guard company to remedy the violation.
9. No registered security guard shall accept or continue in employment with a security guard company upon notice of determination from the department that such employer has (a) violated the provisions of this article or the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, or (b) has engaged in fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.
10. All security guard companies shall maintain books and records of employees who are security guards and shall, upon request, make such books and records available to the secretary of state.