Four New York City EMTs and their union are urging a Manhattan federal judge to rule that the city violated their constitutional rights by restricting their work after they spoke publicly about the harsh conditions they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. They are represented by Walter Meginniss Jr. and Amelia Tuminaro of Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss, LLP, who are leading the legal effort to affirm the workers’ due process rights and set a precedent for how public employees must be treated when speaking out on matters of public concern.
In their legal filing, the EMTs, along with their union, the Uniformed EMTs, Paramedics and Fire Inspectors Local 2507, argue that New York City deprived them of their Fourteenth Amendment right to pursue their profession without being given notice or a chance to respond to alleged violations. The EMTs were barred from performing patient care or field duties, driving FDNY vehicles, working overtime, or participating in 911 ambulance services — restrictions they say were never properly explained at the time.
The city allegedly justified the restrictions months later as related to supposed HIPAA violations during the media coverage. But according to the EMTs, the only opportunity any of them had to respond came after they sued in June 2020 — and just days after that, the restrictions were lifted.