Reporting by the Bronx Times was cited in a federal court decision granting class action status to former employees of Westech Security, who were left missing multiple paychecks when the Throggs Neck office abruptly closed on Sept. 10, 2024.
Both the complaint and the decision cited Bronx Times’ stories about a group of employees who went to the office at 3040 East Tremont Ave. to collect their paychecks —some of which were replacing checks that previously bounced. But instead of receiving their pay, the employees found the office locked and a sign saying that Westech was “temporarily closed.”
Despite their efforts to contact management, they never recovered their pay.
The case was brought by Keith Rodriguez of the Bronx, who worked for Westech from Nov. 2022 until the shutdown, against William Vassell, owner of Westech Security and Investigation Inc. Prior to the Bronx closure, the company had offices in three states and employed hundreds of hourly security guards for schools, businesses and organizations.
According to the Southern District of New York complaint filed Jan. 7, 2025, Westech allegedly violated state and federal labor laws by not providing any notice before the shutdown and mass layoffs. The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires at least 60 days’ notice for companies with more than 100 employees, and the parallel New York state law requires 90 days.
The complaint also alleges that Westech did not pay proper overtime and other wages due to the workers, even beyond the numerous missing and bounced checks. For instance, it alleged that Westech employees did not receive lunch breaks and were expected to work straight through, yet managers routinely deducted 30 minutes’ pay per shift.
In a statement sent to the Bronx Times, plaintiffs’ attorney Matthew L. Berman said, “We think it’s incredibly disruptive to employees to conduct mass-layoffs without providing the required statutory WARN Act notices to them so they can try to arrange their affairs, especially when the paychecks issued to those employees are dishonored.
Fortunately, New York law protects employees, and we will do everything in our power to correct this situation that Westech Security has placed its former Throggs Neck employees into, including by seeking to hold Westech’s owners personally liable if they don’t take prompt action to right this wrong.”
Vassell has not responded to the lawsuit, and when reached by phone, he said he was upset of the Bronx Times’ prior coverage and had no comment about the new class action suit. Vassell is facing multiple state and federal lawsuits in connection with Westech and other business ventures.
He also owes New York state back taxes in excess of $1.5 million, putting him at number 57 on the list of the top 100 delinquent taxpayers.
The former Westech employees are suing for back pay, the value of lost benefits, attorneys’ fees and more.
A March 16 ruling by Judge Analisa Torres granted the class action while specifying that it only applied to former Westech employees from the Throggs Neck office.
The eligible class includes, “All hourly workers employed by Defendants out of Westech’s Throggs Neck location between June 10, 2024 and September 30, 2024, and (a) whose paychecks during this time period were dishonored or were not issued, or (b) who did not receive at least 60 days of advance notice of Westech’s shutdown.”
Attorneys with Rissmiller Employment Law and Valli Kane Vagnini are currently working to contact former Westech employees. If you believe you meet the criteria to join the case, send an email to Alex Rissmiller Arissmilller@Rissmiller.com and Matthew Berman (MBerman@VKV.law).
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
