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NYC School Safety Agents Specialists Settle Unpaid Overtime Claims For $18,854,835.60

  • Writer: Lesley Marker
    Lesley Marker
  • Jul 2
  • 2 min read

Updated: Sep 11

Contact: Hope Pordy, Esq.


On July 2, 2025, U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn approved a $18,854,835.60 million Settlement in a lawsuit brought by 3,484 current and former School Safety Agent Level Is employed by the City of New York and the New York Police Department alleging unpaid overtime. The Schools Safety Agents (SSAs) are members of Teamsters Local 237. 


Spivak Lipton LLP and McGillivary Steele Elkin LLP brought this case, Cartagena, et al., v. City of New York, 1:23-cv-08711, on behalf of SSAs under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for unpaid overtime work that results from the SSAs challenging jobs keeping New York City school children and faculty safe and ensuring the safety of the physical environment of school buildings and related recreational facilities.  The settlement represents a recovery of damages for the following violations of the FLSA:


  • Overtime pay received more than two weeks after you worked it

  • Shift differentials and other pay beyond hourly and salary pay not included in the rate at which overtime is paid

  • Work before your official start time such as putting on a uniform, gathering equipment, discussing work with co-workers and supervisors or doing any other work-related tasks before the official paid workday begins

  • Work through any portion of your unpaid meal period or work after your official end time for which you have not been paid. 

  • Travel Time between Overtime Assignments 


The successful outcome of this case relied on a previous case filed by the firm on behalf of SSA Level Is and Mobile Taskforce SSAs, Worley v. City of New York and NYPD, Case No. 1:17-cv-04337, which settled in 2020 on behalf of 3,880 plaintiffs in the amount of $27,747,075.22, on the cusp of trial, after we received a highly favorable decision from U.S. District Court Judge Lorna Schofield.


If you are an SSA Level 3, you can sign up for a new Overtime Lawsuit.


If you have not been paid overtime for time worked, please contact us to find out if you may have a claim. 



 
 
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