Council works on a 40-hour training rule for unarmed security guards, after small firms pushed back
Henry Santana's ordinance would require a city permit and paid training for guards. A Nov. 5 working session follows a September hearing where Culpepper, a co-sponsor, said he opposed it as written.
The unarmed guards who staff Boston's hospitals, office lobbies, housing developments and stores could soon need city-required training. The Committee on Government Operations will hold a working session on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 10 a.m. on an ordinance setting minimum training for unarmed security guards (public notice). Working sessions are where councilors rewrite an ordinance's text. They usually take no public testimony.
Why it matters
Guards are often the first to respond when someone collapses, is in a mental health crisis or is using drugs. City Councilor Henry Santana, the lead sponsor, told the committee there are no state or local training requirements for unarmed guards in Boston. He said that when he worked as a guard himself, his only training was a first shift with someone else (watch at 20:23). The ordinance notes that state law sets training for armed guards but not for unarmed ones.
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What the ordinance would do
From the filed text (docket 1541):
- Training. 40 hours of initial training from a city-certified program within 90 days of hire, and within 180 days for guards already working. Then 8 hours a year after the first year.
- Topics. First aid, CPR and defibrillators, overdose response, de-escalation, mental and behavioral health awareness, emergency preparedness, fire safety, incident reporting, workers' rights and working with police and fire.
- Who pays. Employers pay all training costs and may not take them out of guards' pay.
- A permit. Any security employer with two or more unarmed guards at Boston properties would need a yearly permit from the Office of Labor Compliance and Worker Protections. It would have to report who was trained and where, and keep records for three years.
- Enforcement. A $300 fine per violation for employing guards without a permit. The city could deny or revoke permits.
Federal and state agencies are exempt as employers.
What was said at the September hearing
The committee heard the ordinance Sept. 17, with panels from the security industry and from the union 32BJ SEIU and public testimony (meeting page).
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- City Councilor Ed Flynn, a co-sponsor, said guards need training but the city must also support small security companies, especially those owned by people of color. He asked for compromise language (22:36).
- City Councilor Erin Murphy called it a balance between making sure guards are trained and listening to the employers who train them (23:40).
- Committee chair Gabriela Coletta Zapata read a letter from City Councilor Miniard Culpepper, also a listed co-sponsor. He wrote that he supports training but opposes the ordinance in its current form because of its effect on small minority-owned security firms (24:09).
- City Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune said hurting small businesses was not the goal, and that small firms cannot spread costs the way large ones can (1:21:39).
Santana said that day he had heard objections about the timeline and about how some companies already train their own staff (21:29).
What our records add
The ordinance was filed Aug. 3 with 10 sponsors and sent to committee Aug. 5, 86 days ago. Besides Santana, the sponsors are Louijeune, Breadon, Culpepper, Durkan, FitzGerald, Flynn, Pepén, Weber and Worrell. Mejia, Murphy and Coletta Zapata are not sponsors.
Coletta Zapata's committee has two ordinance working sessions this week. The other, on Nov. 2, is on condo conversion protections (our story).
What's next
If the committee settles on new language, Coletta Zapata can report the ordinance to the full council for a vote. The council has four regular meetings left this year: Nov. 4, Nov. 18, Dec. 2 and Dec. 9. An ordinance needs the mayor's signature after it passes.