New York City Council 
Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection 
Introduction 1391 of 2025 – Compensation and training standards for security guards 

Thank you, Chair Menin and members of the committee, for the opportunity to testify on Int. 1391, which would set compensation and training standards for security guards. The Partnership for New York City mobilizes private sector resources and expertise to advance New York City’s standing as a global center of economic opportunity, upward mobility, and innovation. We are a nonprofit organization whose members are preeminent business leaders and companies that support nearly one million jobs in New York City and deliver approximately $236 billion in economic output. 

The Partnership strongly opposes Int. 1391, which would direct the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to establish and enforce new minimum wage, benefit, and training standards for all security guards in New York City. This legislation would set a troubling and unlawful precedent by allowing the city to create its own wage and benefit requirements separate from and inconsistent with state law. 

New York law prohibits municipalities from establishing their own minimum wage rates. This bill would upend that long-established legal framework, inviting costly litigation and creating confusion for employers and workers alike. If upheld, it would open the door for a patchwork of local wage mandates across industries, destabilizing the uniform labor standards that have helped make New York competitive and economically strong. 

Consistent statewide labor policy is critical to maintaining a predictable business environment and ensuring that employers can plan, hire, and grow with confidence. A city-by-city or industry-by-industry approach to wage setting would drive up compliance costs, discourage investment, and ultimately threaten jobs, particularly among small and mid-sized businesses that make up the backbone of our local economy. 

For these reasons, we urge the Council to reject Int. 1391 and instead work with state leaders to address wage and training standards through coordinated, statewide policy. 

Thank you.