California Proposition 11, also known as the Emergency Ambulance Employees Safety and Preparedness Act, was a ballot proposition that was voted on during the November 2018 California general election. The proposition aimed to address the issue of

emergency medical technician An emergency medical technician (EMT), also known as an ambulance technician, is a health professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found working in ambulances. In English-speaking countries, paramedics a ...

s (EMTs) and

paramedic A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research. Not all ambulance personnel are p ...

s being required to remain on-call during meal and rest breaks. Under existing California labor laws, employers are required to provide meal and rest breaks to their employees. However, emergency medical services (EMS) providers argued that EMTs and paramedics should be exempt from this requirement due to the nature of their work, where they need to be available for immediate emergency response. Proposition 11 sought to establish an exception to existing labor laws for private-sector ambulance employees. It aimed to allow these employees to be reachable during their breaks and respond to emergency calls without violating labor laws. Critics of Proposition 11 argued that it undermined worker protections and

labor rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights in ...

. They contended that EMTs and paramedics deserved uninterrupted meal and rest breaks like other employees, and that appropriate staffing levels should be maintained to ensure uninterrupted emergency services. Proponents of Proposition 11, such as

American Medical Response American Medical Response, Inc. (AMR) is a medical transportation company in the United States that provides and manages community-based medical transportation services, including emergency ( 911), non-emergency and managed transportation, rotar ...

who was the main campaign contributor in support, claimed that uninterrupted meal and rest breaks for EMTs and paramedics would lead to delayed emergency responses, potentially endangering lives. They argued that flexible break policies were necessary to ensure public safety and that these employees could still take breaks as long as they remained available to respond to emergencies.

Result

References

{{Reflist November 2018 in the United States 2018 California ballot propositions