Having searched this site and finding others claiming things similar to what I experienced with this company I feel compelled to "write my report" here too. I was hired aprox. 2 years ago with some conditions attached to it. I am not the norm for the company in my city because I was hired as an *armed* guard and I specialize in *armed* work. When I was hired I was told by their Manager (at the time they were still called Pinkerton) that they would be branching out more into the armed industry.
I specifically asked this (in front of witnesses) because I already had a very challenging and rewarding job doing armed work along side our Police Dept.in fact I even made the local newspaper about how I was part of a team that had reduced crime by 30 % in the worst area of our city and my photo was also published with this long front-page article. However, Pinkerton/Securitas had me resign in writing with this good job I had and provide them with a copy of my resignation.
First off, they were totally unprepared and had us working unarmed in plain clothes guarding an empty building. When the client that paid Securitas found out all of this we were sent away from the site we all quit our jobs for and we also had our pay reduced by 8 dollars an hr. We were promised bi-weekly for several months that it was temporary and to " hang in there. The company I quit filled my opening so I couldn't get my old job back!" Long story short is I did "hang in there" and we all finally went back and I did an outstanding job. I immediately noticed some major problems.
Our guns had FMJ's when our training said we would never use them and I personally went out and bought the correct bullets for our guns. Some doors didn't lock and some cameras didn't work right and as told to do in training I reported all of this. Especially breaches of our non-disclosure that had occurred! Shortly after I was told to run some forensics on a computer by my superior and I did and then I reported back whom I thought it was (based on who was logged on at that time).
It turns out that it just happened to be our only female that was playing on the secure PC and the main client was also female. Shortly after I was met at the door (without any notice) and they took my access card and suspended me. I tried everything, Alert Line (as another mentioned here) chain of command, every avenue I could but the bottom line was they chose to keep the female and retaliate against me and finally ended up removing me from the site for good and the reason that they gave me was "I was spreading rumors!" That is all they could come up with after interviewing every single S/O at the site!
So for those on this site doing these "rebuttals" claiming that Securitas doesn't discriminate I am here to tell you that they do and they did! Even worse, the female that I had reported for breaking site policy (as I was requested to do) had broken severe policies that were suppose to lead to "immediate termination" and even a fine and jail time. None of that happened though; she was even allowed to keep a second security job (and we were not) because she was having a hard time. I even reported *death threats* during this period and what happens in at least two cases I know of is they turn everything over to their legal department who stalls you out hoping you quit.
The building I was working at involved our national security and I refused (and still do) to quit and I would love for anyone to claim I am lying here and take this all to court once and for all! I am documented with dates, times, names and even evidence to prove my case. Lastly, it turns out that this is the only site they have and 2 years later I remain on call because they never "branched out" and obtained any other armed sites or even have the decency to give me my ACTS III badge I studied very hard for and took 3 tests on even though I asked for it in writing several times last year!
All of this is true and I would gladly testify to it in court under penalty of perjury. I was asked to do a job. I did that job and it got me fired and in my opinion it was because of discrimination and then retaliation and the reason they don't fire me is because I would sue them for wrongful termination in violation of public policy in a heartbeat. I haven't done anything wrong and have 14 years experience yet they simply never call me for any armed work.
Meanwhile I am mitigating my damages the best I can. Hopefully more people will have the courage to come forward against this large company and speak out against their wrong doings and bring this company to justice in a court of law because I am going bankrupt after losing the income they had me resign from and later took away from me.
Real name withheld out of fear (death threats are involved).
Larry
Sacramento, California
U.S.A.
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