Some 6,000 NYPD cops have been stiffed out of millions of dollars in unpaid details for places like The New York Times and Target, according to a new class action lawsuit.
The scores of officers were trying to earn a little extra dough through the NYPD’s paid detail program — which allows cops to take off-duty security jobs in uniform — are suing businesses who owe them possibly millions in wages or paid them months after their shifts ended.
“If I’m working and busting my butt, I expect to get paid,” one NYPD sergeant involved in the case, Mohamed Monasar, told The Post.
“It makes me feel horrible,” Monasar said.
Both Target and the New York Times owe him for paid detail shifts, with some of Target’s debts dating back to 2023, Monasar said.
Although the Grey Lady only owes him for one shift from last year, Monasar says it’s well known in the paid-detail community that the paper of record also pays reputably late, with cops not collecting cash for services tendered until between 4-6 months after.
“The safety and security of our people are a top priority for us,” said Danielle Rhoades Ha, a New York Times Company spokesperson. “We rely on the NYPD and their police officers to augment our security program, and we appreciate their work. We’ve just received this complaint and are reviewing it.”
One of the plaintiffs in the class action, NYPD Captain Gabrielle Walls, contends that several Brooklyn Target stores owe her for 121 hours of paid detail work — or $10,500.
Court documents say that at least 100 officers have worked paid details with the Times and 1,000 with various Target stores.
Other stores, like Primark which was named in Wednesday’s suit, will soon be added to the class action.
The suit, filed Wednesday in Manhattan Supreme Court, also names the NYPD as a defendant, since they administer the paid detail program, and are responsible for enforcing the contracts participating business ink with the department — a responsibility they have allegedly failed to uphold.
“These corporations rely on police officers to provide protection and security but then refuse to compensate them for their services,” attorney John Scola told The Post. “In effect, these multi-billion-dollar companies are exploiting the very officers they hire, effectively stealing their labor by failing to pay them what they are owed.”
“With paid detail — they’re supposed to enforce it. They’re making money off it,” added Monasar, who makes $105,000 annually without overtime.
In addition to the wages for the paid detail, businesses are also charged an hourly 10% “administrative fee” based on the rates police officials set for each rank, bringing in between $4.10 to $8.70 an hour of scratch for 1 Police Plaza.
“If I don’t show up to a paid detail, my account is suspended and I can’t work,” Monasar said. ”When the vendor makes these mistakes, there’s no penalty for them.”
And when Monasar went to try to find his missing wages, he says officials told him to take it or leave it.
“Anytime you complain about it, they tell you: ‘It’s a voluntary program. If you don’t want to be a part of it, you don’t have to,’” he said.
But his options are limited, now that his paid detail rate has increased since becoming a police sergeant, and the more reliable vendors — like banks and hospitals — typically opt for more affordable lower ranked officers.
“This is time I could spend with my family,” Monasar said. “I’m working for eight hours a day on my off days — and I expect to get paid.”
This isn’t the first time paid detail has been subject to class action litigation — in 2023, TD Bank settled a 5,000-member class action over paid detail for $8.7 million.
Target and the NYPD did not respond to requests for comment.
