County 911 dispatcher claims retaliation for complaints about sleeping co-worker
A lawsuit in which a former Allegheny County 911 dispatcher claims she was fired because she complained about another dispatcher sleeping on the job has been moved to federal court.
Maureen Beaumont originally sued Allegheny County Emergency Services in June in Common Pleas Court.
The case was transferred Friday to U.S. District Court because it involves constitutional claims of retaliation.
Ms. Beaumont was fired in January after the 911 center said she harassed another dispatcher. She claimed that the real reason was that she had reported the woman to her supervisors for sleeping on the job when she should have been taking calls, which she said created a risk to the public.
In April an arbitrator ruled that Ms. Beaumont had been improperly fired and ordered the 911 center to reinstate her, according to her complaint, but her lawsuit will still proceed in U.S. District Court.
Ms. Beaumont is suing on counts of retaliation in violation of the First Amendment and the state Whistleblower Act.
Call 8888/Dial 9-1-1
Executive Order (EO) 06, signed by President Duterte on October 14, 2016, institutionalized the 8888 Citizen’s Complaint Hotline and established the 8888 Citizen’s Complaint Center. This is pursuant to Republic Act (RA) 9485, otherwise known as the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007, which provides that the State shall take appropriate measures to promote transparency in each government agency with regard to the manner of transacting with the public with the objective of reducing red tape and expediting transactions in the government.
The 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Center shall serve as a mechanism where citizens may report their complaints and grievances on acts of red tape, as defined under RA 9485 and other relevant laws, and/or corruption of any national government agency, government-owned or -controlled corporation/government financial institution and other instrumentalities of the government (Section 2, EO 6). The 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Center shall be under the direction and supervision of the Office of the Cabinet Secretary (OCS).
Concerned government agencies and offices shall designate their respective focal and technical officers who shall assist the OCS in its collaboration efforts, and interconnection and integration of public feedback mechanisms (Section 4, EO 6).
Dispatcher roughing it after house fire
A Douglas County dispatcher and her husband will be living out of a camp trailer while they wait for their Dayton home to be repaired after a July 8 fire.
Dispatcher Maria Bowling said she was working in the 911 Center the day of the fire.
“We happened to be monitoring Lyon County at the time, so I heard the call come out,” she said. “However, they had the wrong address at first.”
Bowling found out that call was for her house when her husband called her at work.
“He was asleep in the house when it happened,” she said. “He barely made it out, with the help of Lyon County Sheriff’s Deputy Nicholas McDaniel, who had to kick down the back fence and run down a hill to our neighbors house.”
Union challenges dispatcher’s dismissal in Boardman
The Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, the union that represents dispatchers in the Boardman Township Police Department, is challenging the department’s decision to terminate Casey Englebaugh, the union wrote in a news release.
OPBA contends that a Boardman News article about the situation paints Englebaugh as a “problem employee.”
“That’s fake news,” OPBA attorney Dominic Saturday is quoted saying in the release.
The union filed for binding arbitration with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service last week.
Dispatchers asking callers more questions for a reason
JEFFERSON — The county’s 911 dispatchers are following a new set of procedures which involves callers being asked more questions, and officials want the public to know what the change is all about and that it is not delaying the time it takes to dispatch an ambulance.
County 911 was established in 1990. Up until a state-mandated change was implemented in November in Ashtabula County, dispatchers largely focused on what the emergency is, where it happened and sending first responders to the location.
In 2016 the state mandated that all public safety answering points provide emergency medical dispatching. This means that dispatchers ask callers certain questions on medical calls and based upon the answers they receive they then stay on the line and tell callers what steps to take — such as how to do a Heimlich maneuver during a choking incident or to administer an aspirin during a potential heart attack — until an ambulance arrives.
Some agencies, such as Community Care Ambulance, have long been following the new rules while others, like the county’s 911 system, have only recently stepped on board.
Ashtabula County 911 has received more than 16,300 calls from January to present and of those calls more than 2,500 required emergency medical dispatching.
