Stop Nursing Discrimination Against Women in the Pension System by Nancy Kaleda
February 12th, 2008
The City of New York prides itself on being one of the most progressive employers in the nation. Yet it refuses to end a discriminatory practice that for decades has denied registered nurses equal retirement benefits.
The City Administrative Code includes a list of “physically taxing” occupations that require “heavy duty and extraordinary effort.” City employees who work in those occupations are entitled to retire at an earlier age with full benefits. It’s accepted that the wear and tear of their jobs might force them to retire early.
Nursing positions have never been on that list.
It’s hard to understand why, because the 7,100 RNs employed by the city perform tasks that are physically demanding and strenuous. It’s been estimated that nurses lift an equivalent of 1.8 tons per shift. Moving patients can exert up to 2,000 pounds of force on a nurse’s lumbar spine. The incidence of back injury is higher for nursing professionals than for construction workers, with a startling 38 percent of nurses sustaining significant injuries that require leave from work.
The reason for this omission may lie in the fact that the “physically taxing” occupations recognized by the city are traditionally held by men. Nursing is a female-dominated profession. When the “physically taxing” provision was established in 1968, the men who wrote the regulations didn’t understand that nurses undergo more physical strain than employees working in predominantly male job titles.
We’ve come a long way since then, but City Hall still doesn’t get it.
When the city refused to correct this injustice through administrative means, the nurses began the long and difficult process of obtaining state legislation to achieve this goal. By the way, the proposal is cost-neutral, so it won’t cost taxpayers a dime.
Action is required by both New York State and the New York City Council.
In 2006, the legislation was vetoed by Governor George Pataki. Last year, the City Council failed to pass the home rule message, even though it had approved it in 2006. The nurses received assurances from many City Council members that the home rule message would pass again, but inexplicably, the Council never voted on the measure.
In their fight for fair treatment by the city, the nurses delivered more than 1,000 gender discrimination complaints last month to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Manhattan office. The nurses, who are represented by the New York State Nurses Association, are hoping the EEOC will investigate these complaints, question the city’s elected leaders, and correct this long-standing injustice.
City officials should examine their consciences. Do they really believe that women who work just as hard as men don’t deserve the same benefits? That’s the message they are sending to nurses and the rest of the community.
It’s time for City Council members to act on their principles and send a home rule message to the state legislature. The State Legislature and the governor also must do the right thing and ensure fairness in the city pension system. Discrimination shouldn’t tarnish the reputation of the greatest city in the world. C
Nancy Kaleda is the senior associate director of the Economic & General Welfare Program for the New York State Nurses Association.
The City Administrative Code includes a list of “physically taxing” occupations that require “heavy duty and extraordinary effort.” City employees who work in those occupations are entitled to retire at an earlier age with full benefits. It’s accepted that the wear and tear of their jobs might force them to retire early.
Nursing positions have never been on that list.
It’s hard to understand why, because the 7,100 RNs employed by the city perform tasks that are physically demanding and strenuous. It’s been estimated that nurses lift an equivalent of 1.8 tons per shift. Moving patients can exert up to 2,000 pounds of force on a nurse’s lumbar spine. The incidence of back injury is higher for nursing professionals than for construction workers, with a startling 38 percent of nurses sustaining significant injuries that require leave from work.
The reason for this omission may lie in the fact that the “physically taxing” occupations recognized by the city are traditionally held by men. Nursing is a female-dominated profession. When the “physically taxing” provision was established in 1968, the men who wrote the regulations didn’t understand that nurses undergo more physical strain than employees working in predominantly male job titles.
We’ve come a long way since then, but City Hall still doesn’t get it.
When the city refused to correct this injustice through administrative means, the nurses began the long and difficult process of obtaining state legislation to achieve this goal. By the way, the proposal is cost-neutral, so it won’t cost taxpayers a dime.
Action is required by both New York State and the New York City Council.
In 2006, the legislation was vetoed by Governor George Pataki. Last year, the City Council failed to pass the home rule message, even though it had approved it in 2006. The nurses received assurances from many City Council members that the home rule message would pass again, but inexplicably, the Council never voted on the measure.
In their fight for fair treatment by the city, the nurses delivered more than 1,000 gender discrimination complaints last month to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Manhattan office. The nurses, who are represented by the New York State Nurses Association, are hoping the EEOC will investigate these complaints, question the city’s elected leaders, and correct this long-standing injustice.
City officials should examine their consciences. Do they really believe that women who work just as hard as men don’t deserve the same benefits? That’s the message they are sending to nurses and the rest of the community.
It’s time for City Council members to act on their principles and send a home rule message to the state legislature. The State Legislature and the governor also must do the right thing and ensure fairness in the city pension system. Discrimination shouldn’t tarnish the reputation of the greatest city in the world. C
Nancy Kaleda is the senior associate director of the Economic & General Welfare Program for the New York State Nurses Association.
