This is interesting because it details a little bit of the recruiting practices of this company. I have heard about the 65,000 a year dollar number thrown around before, but I did not know that SOC was playing around with the numbers like this. Here is the quote:
Risinger, a California resident, says he was hired in 2010 to work as an armed guard at a Baghdad military base , on a 1-year assignment for a flat salary of $65,000. But when he and others arrived in Iraq, he says they were told that the salary was “calculated based upon a $17.36 hourly rate, which hourly rate would dictate class members’ actual pay based upon ‘the number of hours on your time sheet.’ At that hourly rate, without overtime, an employee would earn $36,108 a year. A worker would have to work 72 hours a week at straight time to earn $65,000 a year.
That sounds a lot like the whole ‘bait and switch game’. Meaning they recruit folks with the idea that they would get a specific amount, and then once in the war zone, they would clarify what the individual would really make. Which usually would be less money than originally offered. The IC has the option to suck it up and take the pay cut, or get on a plane and go back home. The companies usually bank on the idea that the IC will just suck it up and stay.
Although the problem with this is that usually this practice creates disgruntled workers, and with good reason. So then you have guys working the contract that could care less about doing a good job, who do not trust the company, and are doing all they can to secure another job somewhere else.
That is a horrible way to do business, and any company that thinks this is an acceptable practice is wrong. You might save a little money in the short term, but you will lose money because you have to keep hiring new guys and fly them over all of the time to deal with high attrition. Not only that, but you are in constant threat of default on contract because you have IC’s that could at any time just leave because they do not want to work for the company. You also lose out on company reputation, and you lose the most valuable asset a company could have–experienced good leaders.
Experienced good leaders are the ones that believe in the company and contract, and have stayed around long enough to know the job really well and know how to manage it. They are also good at leading people, and making sure everyone is happy and doing the job. Any company that has set up a system that does not grow and keep experienced good leaders, will certainly suffer the consequences of such poor practices.
Also, if the government was focused more on best value contracting, and stopped this practice of lowest priced technically acceptable contracting, then they could actually pick companies based on how they treat their people. A contracting officer should be able to take a look at the attrition rate of any company and ask, is this the kind of company we want protecting our camps in the war zones? And what causes such a high attrition rate within this company? Or even ask if the IC’s of that company are happy to be there and like the company they are working for? If the contracting officer is getting some intense negative feedback from a multitude of disgruntled IC’s who do not trust the company, then that might be a sign that the company is not exactly the best folks to do business with. –Matt
Edit: 01/01/2012 By the way folks, the lawyer for this particular class action is reaching out to all former or current SOC contractors and employees listed within a specific time frame. If the case is successful, then expect to get a piece of the settlement or award if you are within that group. Here is the email he was sending out.
We have brought a class action lawsuit on behalf of all SOC employees (former and current) who worked for the Company between December 19, 2009 and December 19, 2011 for unpaid wages, including overtime, rest breaks, meal breaks and possible other items like medical expenses. While the class action process can be slow, we expect to be obtaining from SOC within the next 6 months the names of all individuals that would make up the class of employees. In the meantime, I am also keeping record of all persons, like yourself, who have experienced the labor code violations we allege in the complaint so that I can cross-check the list we get from SOC with the names of the people we have been contacted by to make sure that you are included in the class and any settlement unless you choose not to be a part of it. There may come a time when I do need to get declarations from persons like you to support the case and when that happens, I will certainly reach out to you.
Best, Scott
Scott E. Gizer- Partner Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae LLP, sgizer@earlysullivan.com www.earlysullivan.com phone: 702 990 3629
Ripped Off in Iraq, Class of Guards Claims
By NICK DIVITO
Wednesday, December 21, 2011A private security guard in Iraq says in a class action that his employer SOC Nevada made its employees work up to 12 hours a day, seven days a week, in “ultrahazardous conditions” without overtime pay or breaks. “SOC’s core mission changed from ‘Securing Our Country’ to ‘Lining Its Pockets’ when it began to recruit employees … under false promises of a fixed salary and scheduled with time off,” lead plaintiff Karl Risinger says in the complaint in Clark County Court. “[D]ue to a lack of adequate staffing driven by corporate greed,” SOC subjected its armed guards to “undue risk by jeopardizing the physical and psychological condition of the class members in the course of ultra-hazardous activities,” the complaint states.
Risinger, a California resident, says he was hired in 2010 to work as an armed guard at a Baghdad military base , on a 1-year assignment for a flat salary of $65,000. But when he and others arrived in Iraq, he says they were told that the salary was “calculated based upon a $17.36 hourly rate, which hourly rate would dictate class members’ actual pay based upon ‘the number of hours on your time sheet.'” At that hourly rate, without overtime, an employee would earn $36,108 a year. A worker would have to work 72 hours a week at straight time to earn $65,000 a year. Risinger says he was forced to work more than 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, “without meal or rest periods, and without any overtime compensation.” He claims SOC “routinely falsified employee time sheets to reflect time off when there was none and to show that plaintiff, and others similarly situated, worked only 12 hours per day when in fact they worked in excess of 12 hours each day.” SOC Inc., or “Securing Our Country,” is a Delaware corporation doing business in Washoe County, Nev. It provides worldwide security for “individuals, domestic facilities, nuclear power plants and military bases,” according to the complaint.? It recruits former military personnel and others to work as armed guards in Iraq. According to its website, “SOC is the global leader in full-service security management.” The website also features a toll-free “Ethics Help Line … that provides a confidential method to report suspected illegal or unethical behavior within the company. There will be no retributions or reprisals for reporting a suspected violation in good faith.” Risinger seeks unpaid wages, including overtime, along with penalties, interest, attorney’s fees, disgorgement or restitution, and punitive damages. He is represented by Scott E. Gizer with Earley Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae. The defendants are SOC Inc., a Nevada corporation; SOC LLC, a Delaware LLC dba SOC Nevada.
Story here.
Class action here.
Shades of CSA !!!
Comment by LGM — Friday, December 23, 2011 @ 8:09 PM
I was also thinking CSA! Exactly
Comment by Anonymous — Saturday, December 24, 2011 @ 5:21 AM
This is the tip of the ice berg?
SOC LLC is 40 million in the red after one year of providing services on the Baghdad Embassy Security Force contract. As an employee of the company I was routinely not compensated. Other IC’S on task order were routinely not paid, forced to carry unlicensed weapons or no weapons at all and live in accommodations with three or more operators with no television or internet.
The SOC Mobile Tactical Team was forced to live unarmed in the Red Zone, at an Iraqi owned safe house with Iraqi local guards. Numerous qualified experienced operators have quit due to the extreme incompetence, unprofessionalism and dishonesty only to find that SOC LLC will not release their clearance and after sitting at home for months they are told they are still under contract and cannot have their clearance revalidated and transferred to another WPS provider.
The Program Manager (PMO) was fired.
The Director of Training was fired.
The Deputy Program Manager of Operations (DPMO) who is a Blackwater throwback is as dishonest and unethical as they come.
The company is overwhelmed and not prepared to operate such a large contract. Had they treated their experienced staff with some respect and loyalty the BESF contract could have been a good contract to work on? Word to the wise brothers……..DO NOT WORK FOR SOC LLC ON THE BESF CONTRACT. IT IS THE WORST I HAVE SEEN IN SEVEN YEARS.
Since SOC LLC does not self perform and conduct their own training all BESF employees are forced to attend the O’Gara Group Training and Services WPS course which is the industry joke. Being a SOC BESF Supervisor, Shift Leader and Detail Leader who conducted hundreds of missions in Iraq in 2005-2011 with actual road experience this course and the O’Gara Group is the step child of the industry.
Professional companies such as IDS, USTC, Triple Canopy and VXL are still putting guys through a real selection which saves lives while the O’Gara Group, which has no stake in this fight, continues to put every unqualified inexperienced person down range after being certified by a local Virginia police officer who has never conducted a high threat diplomatic mission.
It all started at training and spiraled downhill from there.
Comment by Concerned IC — Saturday, December 24, 2011 @ 7:51 AM
This is some good stuff, for I was also one of the MTT members that had to live in the RED at both locations. Like to see if this goes any where, there's alot more to add.
Comment by Watching — Tuesday, February 14, 2012 @ 1:14 PM
I was with SOC from Jan2010 to Oct2011… we had a massive turn over of expat staff, on one area alone that was authorised a maximum of 30 expats in under 2 years we had at least 60 expats rotate through those positions. It reached a point that only 3 guys- me included- had more than 6 months in SOC and that was only one part of the VBC, overall turnover rate was just as bad if not worse!
And yeah the treatment and conditions deserve a lawsuit!!!
Comment by Alasdair — Saturday, December 24, 2011 @ 7:19 PM
Thanks for the input guys. I am sure more will follow on this one.
Comment by Feral Jundi — Saturday, December 24, 2011 @ 10:41 PM
All of the above is true. I was there from start of contract went live and it went downhill from there.
efforts were made to make soc aware of the conditions and work load it was not uncommon for us on RRT to do a 16 hour shift 7 days a week.
this was a very bad gig
Comment by John S — Thursday, December 29, 2011 @ 12:46 PM
By the way folks, the lawyer for this particular class action is reaching out to all former or current SOC contractors and employees listed within a specific time frame. If the case is successful, then expect to get a piece of the settlement or award if you are within that group. Here is the email he was sending out.
—————-
We have brought a class action lawsuit on behalf of all SOC employees (former and current) who worked for the Company between December 19, 2009 and December 19, 2011 for unpaid wages, including overtime, rest breaks, meal breaks and possible other items like medical expenses. While the class action process can be slow, we expect to be obtaining from SOC within the next 6 months the names of all individuals that would make up the class of employees. In the meantime, I am also keeping record of all persons, like yourself, who have experienced the labor code violations we allege in the complaint so that I can cross-check the list we get from SOC with the names of the people we have been contacted by to make sure that you are included in the class and any settlement unless you choose not to be a part of it. There may come a time when I do need to get declarations from persons like you to support the case and when that happens, I will certainly reach out to you.
Best,
Scott
Scott E. Gizer- Partner
Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae LLP
sgizer@earlysullivan.com
phone: 702 990 3629
Comment by Feral Jundi — Saturday, December 31, 2011 @ 9:46 PM
Having been on the RRT for VBC, I can verify what John is saying. RRT is the highest-threat position with the Force Protection division as we respond to active shooters, mass casualty incidents, incoming fire, secure UXO (unexploded mortar and rocket rounds) for EOD to deal with, respond to perimeter incursions, etc. QRF was SUPPOSED to be doing a lot of this or supporting us, but until the new division came in at the end of last year we were practically on our own. All of that… and we were routinely worked way beyond safe limits, not paid what we were promised, given arcane voodoo-mathematics on how the pay worked when we complained, and told flat-out that if we didn't like it we could always board a plane and go home. I was one of dozens I saw jump ship to other companies with better pay, bennies, treatment and response to employee concerns.
Comment by B.O.C. — Monday, January 2, 2012 @ 10:44 AM
SOC (then SOC-SMG) started their "corporate ethos of dishonesty" when they were founded in 2003 and I was recruited for their first lift to Iraq (went in on 2d lift). Caught management in several lies involving compensation, insurance, equipment, etc. Within hours of arriving on site (Najaf) I helped rig a Tetra Tech Foster Wheeler (client) Marsat to a laptop so my guys could send out their CV's .. almost the entire first lift had jumped already and not on site as promised (another lie) leaving only 4 guys, 3 of whom were raging alcoholics… Most of us with a background quit and went on to bigger / better things within a few months. A backfill a few months later (who I refused to work with) went on to further infamy… Chad O'Kelley. You know, the SOC log guy who is under federal indictment for money laundering, fraud, etc., and "alleged" to have stolen and then sold US govt purchased ammo back to US gov contracts and possibly to black marketeers (and then on to the insurgents). SOC has been plagued with its share of yahoos since the beginning. Unfortunately, the mediocre types stayed on and rose through the ranks.
Comment by Cohiba — Thursday, January 5, 2012 @ 5:46 PM
I was with Soc. From the start of 2011 till mid. Oct. 2011 and i always got the run around when it came to things asking about my pay i was on VBC in Camp Slayer and in less then a month people would quit we had two cases of people getting to Camp Slayer and putting in there 2 week notice when they were told what they had to do.
The only problem im having with SOC. right now is trying to get my pay from end of Aug. to mid Oct. missing like 4 paychecks from them. Each time i try to email SOC. and i always get a different person and have to give my name and everything else and that somone will call me back now here it is Jan. 2012 and still nothing.
Comment by heath — Saturday, January 7, 2012 @ 7:27 AM
I was working on SOC’s RRT (Rapid Response Team) For two months and had one day off working 7 days a week until November 9th. While all the time they were making us sign a times sheet that showed we were getting one day off a week, but really we were working. The supervisors told us if we didn’t sign it then we wouldn’t get paid.
Comment by Brian Hughes — Saturday, January 7, 2012 @ 4:04 PM
Well I'm glad this finally surfaced, I need to know the lawyer's contact information. I worked for SOC LLC and also worked everyday with no days off. Please forward any helpful information. K_G_DET_1@YAHOO.COM
Comment by Kevin D. Green — Saturday, January 7, 2012 @ 11:20 PM
Kevin,
I just posted the lawyer's contact information a couple of comments up top. Here it is again.
Scott E. Gizer- Partner
Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae LLP
sgizer@earlysullivan.com
phone: 702 990 3629
Comment by Feral Jundi — Sunday, January 8, 2012 @ 9:51 AM
I just came back from Baghdad, Iraq…working with SOC…I was the Operations Manager for them and was made to falsify the documents..being timesheets…we were made to work over 12 hours a day and they refuse to give us overtime. I was supposed to get 85k/yr…that’s 7,083 a month…if you break it down to every two weeks I was supposed to get 3,541.66…instead they gave me 2,600–2,700 every two weeks…Not to mention The Manager Alex Scarpechi yelled and threaten us with being fired and told us he would black ball us if we didn’t play ball for him…that includes keeping quiet about pay and overtime issues…And as far as the 1-800 number to complain…hahahaha…what a joke….when we finally couldn’t take it anymore we did complain and 7 expats left at the same time…when we got back to the States and filed for unemployment, SOC refused saying we quit…even though our contract was finished and our paperwork said demoobilization…not resignation…SOC is the bottom of the barrel and they will get what’s coming to them…you can’t **** with people and not expect blowback….Count me in on the lawsuit…Being the Ops manager I have plenty of juicy intel about their practices they don’t want you to know…
Comment by Raymond.... — Tuesday, January 10, 2012 @ 1:31 PM
I only worked for SOC for about 2 months. I saw the corruption taking place and jumped ship as quick as I could. Sorry to hear about the folks who put up with it for so long. I hope you all get what you deserve. take care.
Comment by John — Monday, February 13, 2012 @ 2:35 AM
I worked for SOC Aug 2009-Aug 2010 as Medical Officer at Camp Bucca. I am a former 18D, 30 years in Special Forces. 12 hrs a day, 7 days a week and finally was so burnt out I started taking the day off we signed for on the timesheets 2 incidents stand out. The Ughandans were given a set monthly salary and for bidding purposes SOC cut their salaries to rock bottom, without notice.. We had 3/4 of our guard force go on strike. Most could work at home for the same pay, Another incident happened when a muscle head went ballistic on me and after a little research found out he had done this to several expats and guards at Bucca and was relieved at another site for the same behavior. I suspected steriod abuse, requested testing by a third party and was clamped down on by SOC management. Told to stand down and threatened with termination, I found another slot easily and left with proper notice. Seems sweeping unacceptable behavior and incidents under the carpet is chronic at SOC. Later I reapplied for a position in Afghanistan and was blacklisted and lesser qualified personnel were accepted..
Comment by RonnieYoung — Saturday, July 14, 2012 @ 1:30 AM
I worked with SOC-SMG from 2004 to 2005, from BIOP to Camp Habbaniyah and in to Bagdad. It seams that things don’t change with that company. All the complaints I have heard have been the same since 2004 when I 1st started working with them. I am sorry to hear people are still getting screwed over. I left in 2005 after some of the other’s I was working with started a fire fight with the Iraq Army on there own post there in Habbaniyah at there barracks (known as the three sisters).
Comment by patrick hebenr — Saturday, February 22, 2014 @ 11:38 PM