Nine Federation of Nurses/UFT members who were unfairly stripped of their livelihoods have won back their jobs at NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn in one of the biggest arbitration victories that the UFT has ever achieved for unlawful terminations.

“The arbitrator saw the truth,” said UFT Vice President Anne Goldman, head of the Federation of Nurses/UFT. “NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn created a hazardous situation through its incompetence and neglect and then tried to scapegoat and vilify the nurses.”

The independent arbitrator ordered the hospital to reinstate all nine nurses with full back pay and no loss of seniority.

In the Dec. 11, 2022, incident that sparked the firings, hospital security directed a couple to the Labor and Delivery Unit and they soon became lost. The expectant mother spontaneously gave birth in the hallway of the adjoining unit after the couple attempted to gain entry to the unit at the door for visitors.

After a short investigation, the hospital summarily fired all nine nurses at the unit desk that morning, accusing them of failing to meet their duty of care and of showing no remorse or compassion afterward. The UFT filed grievances on behalf of the nurses.

“Hospital management did everything it could to try to demean and break the nurses and tarnish their reputations,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. “But our nurses knew the truth and refused to back down, over two years and a 14-day hearing. And the union was with them every step.”

In the hearing, the union said that the nurses did not know the woman needed assistance and was in no evident distress on the security monitor. The union contended the hospital tried to scapegoat the nurses to cover up its own lax security measures.

In his Jan. 21 ruling, independent arbitrator James A. Brown rejected NYU Langone’s claims that the nine nurses were at fault. He found that the hospital bore much of the responsibility for the unsupervised birth through its own lack of clear directives and poorly designed intercom system.

The arbitrator also called the hospital “misguided” in justifying the firings in part on their perceived lack of remorse.

“An employee can only be disciplined for conduct that violates rules or for other misconduct that is sufficiently egregious and obvious,” Brown wrote. “No basis exists for disciplining employees for failing to show sufficient compassion or empathy.”