In a significant ruling, an arbitrator has ordered NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn to reinstate nine nurses who were terminated in 2022.
The nurses were accused of failing to assist a patient who unexpectedly gave birth in a hallway.
The arbitrator found that external factors, such as low staffing, contributed to the incident and that the hospital wrongfully fired the entire labor and delivery nursing staff.
The nurses will be reinstated with back pay for the two-year period they were out of work.
One nurse, tasked with supervising the unit, will receive a three-day suspension for poor oversight but will be offered her old position without any changes in seniority.
Anne Goldman, head of the Federation of Nurses, part of the United Federation of Teachers, stated that the ruling offers some justice to healthcare workers who were used as scapegoats for the hospital’s failures.
The hospital, however, expressed disappointment with the decision and maintains that the nurses failed to meet expectations around their duties to provide care.
Source. The United Federation of Teachers. (UFT)
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