Updated September 1, 2019
Those persons who contract to provide guard services to oil field drilling operations must be licensed as guard companies, and employees of such contractors must be licensed as security officers.
Section 1702.108, Guard Company, provides that:
A person acts as a guard company for the purposes of this chapter if the person employs an individual described by Section 1702.323(d) or engages in the business of or undertakes to provide a private watchman, guard, or street patrol service on a contractual basis for another person to:
- Prevent entry, larceny, vandalism, abuse, fire, or trespass on private property;
- Prevent, observe, or detect unauthorized activity on private property;
- Control, regulate, or direct the movement of the public, whether by vehicle or otherwise, only to the extent and for the time directly and specifically required to ensure the protection of property;
- Protect an individual from bodily harm including through the use of a personal protection officer; or
- Perform a function similar to a function listed in this section.
Some service providers have suggested that this service is not regulated if the "guards" do not wear security uniforms and do not come into contact with the public. However, neither of these factors is relevant to the analysis. These factors are relevant only to whether the exemption provided in Section 1702.323 is applicable, which governs employees who are providing security "in connection with the affairs of the employer." The "affairs of the employer" are those matters related to the employer's internal operations or protection of the employer's own property, not the contractual, business affairs of the employer. At issue is whether the person has contracted to perform the services of a guard company, as defined above, or is employed by a guard company to perform such services.
On the other hand, if access is not controlled, the person is merely recording information regarding who enters or leaves the premises and does not perform any regulated activities (as described in Section 1702.108), then no license is required. This analysis is necessarily fact specific.