Proposed Law Could Boost Pay for EMTs and Paramedics

Ambulance companies dismiss proposal as a "double financial penalty".

By Paul Krueger

A state assemblyman has joined the effort to protect rest and lunch breaks for California’s EMTs and Paramedics.

Assemblyman Freddie Rodriguez, a Democrat from Pomona, is sponsoring legislation that would require ambulance companies to pay their crews an hour’s pay if their required rest or lunch breaks are interrupted by an emergency.

Rodriguez’s proposal would also require the companies to give those employees another rest or lunch break in that same shift, to make up for the interrupted rest time.

IRWINDALE >> On most days, Assemblyman Freddie Rodriguez puts on a suit and tie and heads off to his office in the state Capitol to craft legislation and represent his constituents in Pomona, Chino, Montclair and Ontario.

But three or four times a month, Rodriguez, D-Chino, puts on a blue uniform and sturdy boots and drives from his home in Pomona to Irwindale, where he reports for duty as an emergency medical technician at American Medical Response, or AMR, an ambulance company.