Comptroller Refuses to Pay Bill For Nassau County Jail's Medical Service Provider Following Lawsuit: Report

Nassau County comptroller George Maragos announced that he has not paid last month's bill to the Nassau County Correctional Centers' medical service provider following a lawsuit against the company filed by the state attorney general, according to a report in Newsday.

The comptroller refused to pay the over $900,000 bill for June to the Armor Correctional Health Service due to the allegations that the company has denied adequate care to the inmates at the facility, according to the report.

In addition, on Wednesday, Maragos announced that according to a limited review of the company's compliance with Nassau County's Living Wage Law, he found that in 2014 and 2015, at least 20 employees were underpaid by over $10,000, and 146 employees may be owed an undetermined amount of vacation pay.

In addition, six employees are owed $889 for compensated time off, according to Maragos.

Armor has agreed to compensate all the underpaid employees.

“These employees work under very difficult conditions and deserve to be fairly compensated and receive time off in accordance with Nassau County Living Wage Law,” Maragos said in a statement.

The review did not review the inadequate health care issues at the jail.

Earlier this month, State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman filed a lawsuit against the company for failing to properly perform their services.

According to Schneiderman, Armor, based in Florida, is being sued for not giving adequate care to the inmates at Nassau County Correctional Center as required in their $11 million yearly contract with the county.

Maragos told Newsday that the comptroller's office will continue to refuse to pay Armor's bill going forward until they prove "they’ve complied with their contractual obligations in the care that they provide."