DC United General Counsel Chris Deubert sent a company-wide email on May 27 informing staffers that the club "would depend on an entirely new security force" to keep Audi Field "secure during the overnight hours: its own front office employees," according to Pablo Maurer of THE ATHLETIC. Deubert explained that DC United had "ended its relationship with Allied Security, the company it had contracted to secure its home stadium, due to some 'serious mistakes on their part and also the cost.'" He wrote, "We need to begin staffing security during the night and overnight. And we are asking our employees to volunteer for a shift." Current and former employees confirmed that they "worked these overnight shifts, which involved watching security cameras in the facility and, in case of any emergency, informing D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department via 911." Employees were "not compensated additionally for these shifts, as the club took into account the reduced workload some of its employees have experienced during the pandemic." A source also said that the shifts were "voluntary at first, but eventually became mandatory before ending recently." A club spokesperson said, “We terminated our security company for cause and given the impact COVID has had on our general day-to-day work practices we asked staff members, including executives, to volunteer to work stadium supervisory shifts, which solely encompasses viewing monitors from a secured room within the stadium” (THEATHLETIC.com, 10/30).
