New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill requiring emergency medical technicians to be checked against the sex offender registry before being employed.
Democratic Assemblyman James Skoufis says his bill provides ambulance companies with additional tools to better vet their EMTs and paramedics. Republican John Bonacic carried the legislation in the Senate. Under the new law, which has the support of the New York State Volunteer Ambulance and Rescue Association and United New York Ambulance Network, prospective ambulance workers must submit to background checks for any sex offense convictions. The law then provides the ambulance company’s chief officer the authority to deny a prospective EMT’s application if any sex offense is found. The bill is set to take effect in March.
