Baltimore committee advances amendments to bill setting pay rules for security guards

Baltimore City — The Labor and Workforce Committee on Nov. 11 reviewed Bill 25-0116, an ordinance proposed to require certain employers to provide minimum compensation and benefits for security guards in Baltimore City.

Chair Jermaine Jones (12th District) opened the meeting by describing the ordinance’s scope and saying it seeks to "finally protect those who have been protecting us for a really long time." A law department representative told the committee the office "approves the bill, for formal legal sufficiency." Tyler Schnell, deputy director of the Mayor’s Office of Government Relations, thanked unions and administration partners for collaboration.

The committee spent the session going through seven proposed amendments aimed at clarifying who is covered, how the local wage and benefit standard is calculated, and when those rules take effect. Amendment 1 standardizes terminology across the text by substituting "security guard" for all instances of "security officer" or "security worker." Amendment 2 would remove a 350,000-square-foot building-size floor that had been used to calculate the local-determined wage and benefit standard, expanding the calculation to all covered security guard work. Amendment 3 refines definitions of "covered security guard" and "covered security employer" for clarity. Amendment 4 clarifies that otherwise legally required benefits (for example, federal minimum wage or certain legally mandated holiday pay) do not count toward the ordinance’s minimum compensation calculation. Amendment 5 delays the requirement to calculate a local-determined wage and benefit standard until July 1, 2027, with the ordinance taking effect Jan. 1, 2028; during the first year employers would use the service contractor rate while the administration determines the initial local wage. Amendment 6 would add a posting requirement for employers—modeled on the existing Living Wage ordinance—so workers can see the required security wages. Amendment 7 clarifies the division of responsibility between the Wage Commission and the Office of Equity and Civil Rights.

Council President Z. Cohen praised negotiations with stakeholders, credited multiple agencies and communities for recent declines in violence in Baltimore City, and said security workers "deserve" better pay: "the people that keep us safe in this building cannot be our lowest paid workers." Schnell said the mayor’s office "thanks the union representation" and emphasized partnership in developing the bill. The law department’s statement of legal sufficiency was recorded without objection.

No members of the public signed up to testify. The committee recessed with the intent to reconvene to vote the measure after incorporating amendments and giving the administration time to implement the delayed wage calculation.

The chair indicated the bill had been previously heard and is sponsored by him; a formal vote was not taken at the Nov. 11 session and will be scheduled for a later meeting.