By EMS1 Staff
PATERSON, N.J. — A city is settling with a group of EMTs in a dispute from a decade ago about their pay raises.
NorthJersey.com reported that the city of Paterson will pay out $166,666 to 33 EMTs in a settlement, which covers pay raises the EMTs claimed they should have received from 2003 to 2007.
All of the EMTs were laid off in 2011 when the city decided to alleviate a budget crisis by utilizing firefighters to handle medical responses.
The EMTs’ lawyer, Angelo Bisceglie, said the city delayed proceedings in the dispute, claiming that officials believed the responders would not be able to afford a lengthy legal battle.
“The city figured they would just go away,” Bisceglie said. “There was clearly an effort to place obstacles in the way of getting this resolved.”
Councilman Michael Jackson said the way the issue was handled was a reflection on how former city officials mistreated residents.
“Previous administrations have been negligent of Paterson people,” Jackson said. “This is just another example of that.”