Lawsuit seeks $473K in unpaid wages, damages for 169 American Public Defense employees

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit against a Chicago security company, American Public Defense Inc. and its owner and president Lewis Brown, to recover $473,212 in back wages and damages after its investigation found the employer misclassified guards as independent contractors and illegally deducted fines from workers’ pay for taking breaks, being late, not giving two-weeks’ notice before quitting and other actions the company viewed as infractions.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined the illegal deductions caused the employer to pay some workers less than minimum wage and not pay overtime when required. The division also alleges the security company sometimes failed to issue any payroll checks and by misclassifying guards as independent contractors, denied them overtime and the payment of payroll deductions and other benefits.

Filed on Sept. 29, 2023 by the department’s Office of the Solicitor in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the complaint alleges American Public Defense Inc., and its owner and president violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The complaint seeks to recover $22,558 in minimum wages due to 106 employees and $214,047 in overtime back wages owed to 169 employees, and an equal amount in liquidated damages. The division has identified FLSA violations by the company and Lewis Brown on two...

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