BILL NUMBER: S8427

SPONSOR: JACKSON
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general municipal law, in relation to the compen-
sation of certain emergency medical technicians who are providing emer-
gency medical services, and their supervisors, during outbreaks of
infectious diseases

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To provide additional compensation to emergency medical technicians and
advanced emergency medical technicians, and t heir supervisors, employed
by the City of New York or the New York City Health and Hospitals Corpo-
ration for emergency medical services performed during outbreaks of
infectious diseases, in recognition of the health and safety risks that
these employees assume in providing lifesaving and harm-reducing care to
infected patients.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

              

Section one of the bill amends the General Municipal Law by adding a new
section 208-I to provide that individuals performing the duties of emer-
gency medical technicians and advanced emergency medical technicians,
and their supervisors, and who are employed by the City of New York or
the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation are entitled to a
hazardous pay differential for work performed during an outbreak of an
infectious disease.

Section two of the bill defines the hazardous pay differential. In
particular, it provides that such pay will be calculated at the rate of
10 percent above the individual employee's regular rate of pay. It
further provides that such pay counts as compensation for purposes of
the pension or retirement systems of which the employee is a member, but
not for determining the right to any salary increase or increment. It
also provides that such pay does not constitute a promotion.

Section three of the bill defines when public health conditions are such
that employees are entitled to hazardous pay. Specifically, it provides
that the hazardous pay differential shall be in effect when an infec-
tious disease is designated under section 218-b of the New York Labor
Law; during a public health emergency declared under the Public Health
Services Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 247d; during a national emergency declared
under the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. Sec.  1621; or during an
emergency declared under the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 5191.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

When the coronavirus emerged in New York City in early 2020, emergency
medical technicians (EMTs) risked their lives on the frontlines, placing
themselves in harm's way in order to save their ailing neighbors. As
demand for their services surged-with emergency calls nearly doubling-so
did the likelihood that the City's EMTs would become gravely ill or
diedie performing their jobs. Indeed, the Journal of Emergency Medical
Services estimated that EMTs in the Fire Department of the City of New
York ("FDNY") faced a 14 percent higher fatality risk than other FDNY
employees during the pandemic's peak.  Within the first year of the
pandemic, nearly half of them had tested positive for the virus. At
least had five died. Many more were left with the long-term, often
debilitating effects of coronavirus.

This legislation aims to begin to recognize the value of the dangerous
and potentially fatal work that EMTs perform for the community during
public health crises. It provides for a modest pay differential of 10
percent during certain outbreaks of infectious diseases, in acknowledge-
ment of the hardships-both economic and psychological-that such work
causes EMTs and their families. This pay differential, also called
hazardous pay, counts as base wages for purposes of the retirement and
pension funds of which the EMTs are members, ensuring that the present-
day sacrifices of EMTs continue to serve them and their families in the
future.

This legislation identifies the circumstances during which the pay
differential would be in effect. The hazardous pay differential would be
triggered only in the event of a declaration or designation of a public
health emergency by state or federal officials under any one of the four
existing laws: section 218-b of the New York Labor Law; the Public
Health Services Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 247d; the National Emergencies Act,
50 U.S.C. Sec. 1621; and the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 5191. During the coronavirus pandemic,
the federal government made the relevant emergency declarations under
each of the three federal laws that are identified, while the New York
state government made its own designation under the state law.