Two Philly security guards sue Krasner and Pa. over law restricting their employment

Two former security guards are asking a Pennsylvania court to block enforcement of a state law that bans people who were convicted of certain crimes from working as security guards.

Jamar Patterson, 37, was convicted of drug-related offenses when he was 19 years old, but he has maintained a clear record and steady employment since then, according to a lawsuit filed Monday. Patterson was offered a job as an unarmed security guard with Allied Universal Security Services in 2022, but after he told his prospective employer about his 2005 felony conviction, the offer was rescinded, the lawsuit said.

In taking back the job offer, Allied Universal referenced Pennsylvania’s Private Detective Act, which prohibits companies from knowingly employing anyone who has been convicted of a felony or certain misdemeanors.

Many states have restrictions on security guard licensing for people with criminal convictions, but they often have time limits on the restriction or have processes in place for authorities to give exceptions.

“Pennsylvania is definitely among the most restrictive, if not the most restrictive,” said Jamie Gullen, managing attorney of the Employment Unit at Community Legal Services, which provides legal services to low-income Philadelphians.

Like Patterson, Abron Ash, 49, also lost a job due to the Private Detective Act. Ash was a security guard for McGinn Security, which hired him in 2017 to work at Philadelphia International Airport. Allied Universal later acquired McGinn and became Ash’s employer. Ash moved to Florida and continued working as a security guard, first for Allied Universal, and then for Guardian Security. He then moved back to Philadelphia and got a new position with Allied Universal, as unarmed security at a bank branch. He was fired shortly after the hiring.

Allied Universal fired Ash because a prior criminal conviction made his employment as a security guard a violation of the Private Detective Act, the lawsuit said. He was found guilty of three misdemeanors in 2006 related to a physical fight “instigated by a coworker,” the lawsuit said, and hadn’t been charged with any other crimes since.

“Despite Mr. Ash’s long employment history with Allied Universal, the age of his convictions, and his qualification for the security position at Wells Fargo, the PDA’s Employment Ban permanently disqualifies Mr. Ash from working as a security guard in Pennsylvania,” the lawsuit said. “He lost a job paying him $17.25/hour and now works as a dishwasher.”

Patterson and Ash are suing the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and District Attorney Larry Krasner, whose office enforces the Private Detective Act.

The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the lawsuit. The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit noted that in 2015, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court found that a lifetime ban on individuals with convictions holding certain nursing home jobs was unconstitutional. Lawyers for Patterson and Ash argue that the ban on their employment in the Private Detective Act is also unconstitutional.

“It permanently and unreasonably prohibits petitioners and many other qualified workers like them from pursuing an occupation in the security industry, in violation of their substantive due process rights,” the lawsuit says.

Lawyers from Community Legal Services and the Public Interest Law Center are representing Patterson and Ash in their suit.