Servicios de seguridad · Estados Unidos

El sueño y la fatiga en servicios de seguridad

Long, often 12-hour night shifts worked alone leave guards short of sleep; dozing on post, missed alarms and drowsy patrol or cash-in-transit driving put people, property and the officer at risk.

Cambio normativo: 4 jun 2026

Vea el panorama de su fuerza laboral

A quién cubre esta página

Alarm and CCTV monitoring centers
Aviation and port security screening
Cash-in-transit
Crowd control and event security
Hospital, retail and casino security (vea también Atención de salud y enfermería, Comercio minorista y hotelería)
Mobile patrol and alarm response
Static guarding

Cambios normativos

Qué ha cambiado y qué viene

Cambios normativos que afectan la forma en que gestiona la fatiga en servicios de seguridad: lo que cambió en los últimos 12 meses y lo que está por venir.

El detalle normativo y de investigación de esta página se muestra en inglés.

Cambio recienteDesde el 4 de junio de 2026

Se aplica a todas las industrias en Estados Unidos

If you have workers in Colorado exposed to extreme heat or cold, a law signed 4 June 2026 requires a temperature illness prevention plan and worker training, with your plan due to the state by 1 September 2028.

Ver el cambio

Próximo cambioAún sin fecha

NRC proposed on 26 June 2026 to add a sequestration-event exception to the 10 CFR Part 26 work-hour controls that bind nuclear security officers, and to end annual fatigue reporting. OSHA's heat proposal (August 2024) expects final action in October 2027.

Cambios normativos revisados al 1 de octubre de 2026.

Regulación

Quién la regula y qué espera

El detalle normativo y de investigación de esta página se muestra en inglés.

No federal rule limits guards' hours or addresses their fatigue, and state guard-licensing laws deal with licensing, training and firearms, not rest. Your exposure comes from OSHA's general duty, the disability rules on any screening you run, state workers' compensation, and the negligence claims a third party brings after a missed patrol or a crash. The exception is nuclear power, where NRC rules cap security officers' hours and require fatigue training and fatigue assessments.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration — Regulado por

Quién la regula

OSHA enforces the general duty that reaches fatigue, and the EEOC governs any health screening you run. Guards are licensed state by state, for example by California's Bureau of Security and Investigative Services; licensing covers training, firearms and background checks, not hours. At nuclear power plants the Nuclear Regulatory Commission enforces fatigue rules that cover your security officers.

Sus obligaciones

Keep your workplace free of recognized hazards, which can reach fatigue from long hours and night work. Pay overtime past 40 hours; no federal cap exists. Hold the state licenses and training your guards need. At nuclear plants, 10 CFR Part 26 caps security officers at 16 hours in 24, 26 in 48 and 72 in 7 days, requires fatigue training, and requires a fatigue assessment on self-declaration, for cause and after a reportable event. Keep any screening voluntary and confidential.

Consecuencias

An OSHA citation and abatement order follows where fatigue was a recognized hazard you left unaddressed. Screening handled badly is an EEOC charge. A guard asleep at a post or a crash on a patrol shift feeds negligent-security and vehicle claims from third parties, which workers' compensation does not bar. At nuclear plants, the NRC can issue violations, civil penalties and orders.

Sanciones

OSHA maximums, 2025 levels in force through 2026: $16,550 per serious violation, $165,514 per willful or repeat violation, and $16,550 a day for failure to abate. ADA compensatory and punitive damages are capped by headcount from $50,000 to $300,000, with back pay uncapped. Third-party negligence damages are uncapped.

Fuentes: OSH Act s 5(a)(1); OSHA penalty schedule (2025 levels, in force 2026); Americans with Disabilities Act; 10 CFR Part 26 Subpart I; NRC Office of the Inspector General review of Peach Bottom security (2007); state guard-licensing statutes.

Puestos críticos por fatiga

Dónde más importa la fatiga en servicios de seguridad

Los puestos en los que un trabajador fatigado tiene más probabilidades de causar daños graves, las tareas que conllevan el riesgo y por qué se acumula la fatiga.

El detalle normativo y de investigación de esta página se muestra en inglés.

Puesto	Riesgo	Tareas de alto riesgo	Por qué se acumula la fatiga
Mobile patrol officer Reglas Designación normativa Licensed or registered security officer (state guard license, e.g. California BSIS guard card) Horas y descanso None federal (FLSA prices overtime only)	Riesgo crítico	Driving between sites all night; alarm response with lone entry into premises; key-holding call-outs	Night shifts of 10-12 h, continuous driving, lone work, call-outs
Armored car guard / driver Reglas Designación normativa Licensed or registered security officer (state guard license, e.g. California BSIS guard card) Horas y descanso None federal (FLSA prices overtime only)	Riesgo crítico	Armed cash collection and delivery under attack risk; driving armored vehicles on long routes; early-morning ATM replenishment	Pre-dawn starts, long routes, high-alert vigilance, occasional night ATM runs
Nuclear security officer (armed security force) Reglas Designación normativa Security personnel - individual subject to fitness-for-duty (10 CFR 26.4(a)(5)) Horas y descanso 10 CFR 26.205(d)(1): 16 h in 24, 26 h in 48, 72 h in 7 days; 26.211 fatigue assessments	Riesgo crítico	Armed protective-force patrols and alarm-station duty at a nuclear plant; vigilance posts overnight; response-team drills	12 h rotating shifts with nights, overtime during outages
Security officer / security guard Reglas Designación normativa Licensed or registered security officer (state guard license, e.g. California BSIS guard card) Horas y descanso None federal (FLSA prices overtime only)	Riesgo alto	Lone static guarding on 12 h night shifts; site and car-park patrols; access control, fire and intrusion alarm response	12 h night shifts, back-to-back shifts across employers, lone work, monotony
Alarm monitoring operator / dispatcher Reglas Designación normativa Licensed or registered security officer (state guard license, e.g. California BSIS guard card) Horas y descanso None federal (FLSA prices overtime only)	Riesgo alto	Monitoring alarms and CCTV feeds overnight; dispatching response; verifying alarm activations and lone-worker check-ins	12 h night shifts, screen monotony, low event rate overnight
Event security / bouncer Reglas Designación normativa Licensed or registered security officer (state guard license, e.g. California BSIS guard card) Horas y descanso None federal (FLSA prices overtime only)	Riesgo alto	Door and crowd control at late-night venues and events; managing intoxicated patrons and physical restraint near closing time	Late-night shifts finishing after 03:00, weekend clustering, second jobs

Casos

Cuando la fatiga quedó registrada

Hallazgos y procesos publicados por reguladores, tribunales e investigadores en Estados Unidos.

El detalle normativo y de investigación de esta página se muestra en inglés.

dic 2025 · Nevada, United States
Armed patrol officer who fell asleep driving to a call denied compensation; dozing treated as a personal risk, not a street risk
- Seguridad
- Legal
An armed patrol officer for a security company in Nevada fell asleep while driving to respond to a call and hit the car ahead hard enough to deploy the airbags, suffering head and leg injuries. The workers' compensation claim was denied at every level, and the Nevada Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that injuries caused solely by the personal risk of falling asleep are not covered by the street-risk rule. The court noted the officer had not shown he was drowsy because of his job, such as long or unusual hours, and that the employer's knowledge he had fallen asleep on the job before was not enough without evidence about its policies, procedures or training or about industry standards.
Caso US-security-07Informar de un error
mar 2018 · New York, United States
Security officer on drowsy diabetes medication he never disclosed is caught asleep a second time; Board denies benefits
- Legal
A security officer in New York on a 4 pm to midnight shift was warned, suspended and placed on probation after being seen asleep on duty, and was fired when he was caught asleep again six months later. He had diabetes and had taken medication for about two years that made him drowsy, but had never told the employer about the condition or the drowsiness. The Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board held that because he never disclosed the condition or tried to change his behavior, and because sleeping on duty in a security post is serious enough to need no warning, he was disqualified from benefits.
Caso US-security-11Informar de un error
ago 2017 · California, United States
Night-shift security guard falls asleep driving home and maims motorcyclist; employer escapes liability
- Seguridad
- Legal
About an hour after finishing an 11 pm to 7 am shift guarding hospital facilities, a security officer fell asleep at the wheel, crossed into oncoming traffic and severely injured a motorcyclist. The injured rider sued the security company, but the California Court of Appeal held the 'going and coming' rule barred employer liability, finding the fatigue came from the guard's inability to sleep during the day rather than an excessive workload. The case highlights that daytime sleep failure on night shifts is a real crash risk even within normal hours.
Caso US-security-01Informar de un error
feb 2015 · New York, United States
Day-shift security officer moved to overnights while on medication that left him drowsy for up to eight hours dozes on post; Board allows benefits
- Legal
A security officer with a security contractor in New York, whose request for daytime hours had always been accommodated, returned from leave and was told the only shift available was overnight, 11 pm to 7:45 am. His medication for a chronic condition, taken late in the evening, left him light-headed, dizzy and drowsy for hours, and he was photographed dozing at 4:45 am and fired. The Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board found he was asleep on the job, but given the limited shift options it held that falling asleep was not misconduct and allowed benefits.
Caso US-security-10Informar de un error
jul 2013 · New Hampshire, United States
Guard who dozed at a gate booth on a night assignment with a 60-mile commute each way keeps benefits; Board finds circumstances mitigating
- Legal
A fill-in security guard was sent for one night to an electric company's site in New Hampshire, about 60 miles from his home, to work 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. checking credentials at the security booth. He was woken by a car horn at about 2 a.m. and fired; he had an earlier verbal warning for falling asleep during a double shift. The Massachusetts Board of Review reversed the denial of benefits, finding the unusual night assignment with a long commute, and his efforts to stay awake by getting food and a drink, sufficiently mitigating to rule out deliberate misconduct.
Caso US-security-06Informar de un error
feb 2013 · New York, United States
Medical college security guard with sleep apnea found asleep at post keeps benefits; condition-driven sleep is not misconduct
- Legal
A security guard of nine years at a medical college's medical center in New York, who had sleep apnea and slept with a breathing mask every night, was found asleep at his post on a 4 p.m. to midnight shift and had to be shaken awake; he was fired two days later. The Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board accepted that his medical condition could cause him to fall asleep at his post, found he did not deliberately fall asleep, and allowed benefits under its rule that there is no misconduct where a condition causes a worker to fall asleep on the job.
Caso US-security-05Informar de un error
dic 2012 · New York, United States
Airport security agent who disclosed sleep apnea after a drowsy crash is caught asleep on post twice; benefits denied
- Legal
A security agent at a New York airport fell asleep while driving and crashed in 2012, then told his employer he had sleep apnea; his doctor said he should not drive but could keep working nights. Later in 2012 airport authority personnel saw him asleep on post twice in one shift, and he was fired. Reopening its own earlier ruling, the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board held that workers in high-risk roles can be held to a particularly high degree of care and that falling asleep on shift was misconduct; benefits were denied.
Caso US-security-04Informar de un error
ago 2012 · New York, United States
Security guard switched from days to nights says her body was not used to the overnight shift; Board denies benefits for sleeping in a safety-sensitive post
- Legal
A security guard with a security contractor in New York was moved from day shifts to an 11 pm to 7 am shift after an incident at one of the facilities. Months later a supervisor found her leaning back with her eyes closed at 2:17 am, photographed her and waited several minutes before waking her, and she was fired. She said her body was tired because she was not yet used to nights, but the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board held she had ample time to adjust and that, in a safety-sensitive post, falling asleep was misconduct without any prior warning.
Caso US-security-09Informar de un error
may 2012 · New York, United States
Hospital night security officer on twelve straight days of overtime and drowsy diabetes medication nods off; Board allows benefits because the employer knew both
- Legal
A long-serving night-shift security officer at a hospital in New York was photographed with his head down and eyes closed after working twelve days in a row of overtime, and was fired for sleeping on duty. He had earlier told the employer he was diabetic and took medication that made him drowsy. The Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board accepted that sleeping on the job can be misconduct, but held that because the employer knew about the drowsy medication and the overtime, and the photo did not show how long he had been that way, his conduct was not misconduct and he could receive benefits.
Caso US-security-08Informar de un error
oct 2005 · Iraq
Security guard on 72-84 hour weeks of night shifts wins sleep-disorder finding; appeals board orders a rethink
- Legal
A security guard employed by a private security contractor in a secure compound in Iraq worked 12-hour night shifts, 72 to 84 hours a week, and developed sleeping problems; his employer knew he had trouble waking, he was late twice and he fell asleep on the job in 2006. An administrative law judge found a work-related sleep disorder and awarded medical benefits but held his disability claim was filed too late. In 2020 the Benefits Review Board upheld the time bar but vacated the sleep-disorder finding as inadequately explained and sent it back; one member would have upheld the medical award.
Caso US-security-02Informar de un error
may 2005 · Connecticut, United States
Airport screener who fell asleep driving back for the second half of a split shift denied federal compensation under the commuting rule
- Seguridad
- Legal
A lead screener with a federal airport security agency in Connecticut worked a split shift, 5:00 to 7:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and went home between the two parts. Driving back for the second part, he lost control on an interstate highway about five miles from the worksite and was injured; he testified he fell asleep because he was exhausted from working a split shift. The Employees' Compensation Appeals Board held he was not in the performance of duty because ordinary commuting is not covered and no exception applied, and that his earlier email asking to be taken off the split shift (citing a medical condition) did not change that.
Caso US-security-03Informar de un error

Ver todas las noticias de servicios de seguridad

Cómo encaja la suite

Cómo se vincula cada producto con sus obligaciones

Las calificaciones describen con qué fuerza se vincula un producto a una obligación. Ninguno cumple por usted una obligación y ninguno conlleva una garantía de cumplimiento.

El detalle normativo y de investigación de esta página se muestra en inglés.

Sleepfit

Apoya su deber general de cuidado

No US rule requires sleep screening for guards. Sleepfit supports the recognized-hazard case under OSHA's general duty for night and long-shift guards, run as a voluntary, confidential program under the ADA. It screens; diagnosis stays with your clinicians.

Acerca de Sleepfit

Fatiguefit4Duty

Apoya su deber general de cuidado

No federal or state rule requires a fitness-for-duty check for guards, except at nuclear plants, where 10 CFR 26.209 requires action on a fatigue self-declaration. Fatiguefit4Duty supports both. A fitness-for-duty check, not a fitness-for-duty decision - the duty call stays with you.

Acerca de Fatiguefit4Duty

Awareness eLearning

Apoya su deber general de cuidado

No state guard-licensing rule names fatigue training. At nuclear plants, 10 CFR 26.203(c) names the fatigue training your security officers must receive, and Awareness eLearning supports it with that content; elsewhere it builds your general-duty training record.

Acerca de Awareness eLearning

Was It Fatigue?

Apoya su deber general de cuidado

US injury recordkeeping names no cause. At nuclear plants, 10 CFR 26.211 requires a fatigue assessment after a reportable event, and Was It Fatigue? supports it; elsewhere it structures your own review. A structured judgment aid, not a determination of cause.

Acerca de Was It Fatigue?

SleepWellBaby

No US rule reaches sleep in new-parent households. SleepWellBaby supports the parents among your guards through the most disrupted months of infant sleep; it is a voluntary benefit, not a compliance step.

Acerca de SleepWellBaby

Paquete recomendado

Por dónde empezaríamos en servicios de seguridad

Cada paquete tiene precio según la prevalencia: toda su cohorte obtiene acceso, y usted paga por la proporción que se prevé que necesite cada producto. Cómo funcionan los precios.

Recomendado · Niveles 2 y 3

Shift Worker Bundle

Tamizaje del sueño y una verificación al inicio del turno para los trabajadores que más lo necesitan.

Alternativa · Niveles 2 y 3

Prevention Bundle

Riesgo de fatiga de forma proactiva: evaluar, gestionar y capacitar, con el tamizaje del sueño como base.

Por qué esta combinación en Estados Unidos

No guard rule names a fatigue tool; at nuclear plants 10 CFR 26.209 requires action on a fatigue self-declaration. Sleepfit screens your guards for sleep disorders, confidentially; Fatiguefit4Duty adds a point-of-duty self-check. Prevention adds Awareness eLearning with a completion record.

Vea lo que el sueño y la fatiga significan para su fuerza laboral en servicios de seguridad.

Indíquenos aproximadamente cuántas personas emplea. Su panorama estima cuántas probablemente duermen mal y cuánto cuesta, a partir de investigaciones publicadas sobre servicios de seguridad. Luego elija a quién cubrir y le llevaremos al siguiente paso adecuado.

Vea el panorama de su fuerza laboral

Un ejemplo de instantánea de la fuerza laboral en una tableta: problemas de sueño modelados y el costo del sueño deficiente para 1.400 personas en transporte y logística.

El sueño y la fatiga en servicios de seguridad

A quién cubre esta página

Qué ha cambiado y qué viene

Quién la regula y qué espera

Quién la regula

Sus obligaciones

Consecuencias

Sanciones

Dónde más importa la fatiga en servicios de seguridad

Cuando la fatiga quedó registrada

Armed patrol officer who fell asleep driving to a call denied compensation; dozing treated as a personal risk, not a street risk

Cómo se vincula cada producto con sus obligaciones

Sleepfit

Fatiguefit4Duty

Awareness eLearning

Was It Fatigue?

SleepWellBaby

Por dónde empezaríamos en servicios de seguridad

Shift Worker Bundle

Prevention Bundle

Vea lo que el sueño y la fatiga significan para su fuerza laboral en servicios de seguridad.