Judge Orders FDNY to Remove Six Fire Cadets Serving as EMTs in Civil Service Dispute
A New York judge has ruled that the FDNY violated state civil service law by temporarily appointing fire cadets to EMT and EMS trainee positions despite the existence of eligible civil service lists for those titles. The ruling affects the six fire cadets who remained in those assignments at the time of the decision, ordering FDNY to remove them and fill those positions with candidates from the appropriate eligibility list.
The dispute arose in June 2025 when FDNY appointed 82 fire cadets to an 18-week EMT training course. The cadets had completed the Fire Cadet program and were awaiting entry into a probationary firefighter class scheduled to begin later that year. According to the court, FDNY’s stated purpose was to keep the cadets continuously employed, allow them to meet minimum and maximum time-in-title requirements, and have them serve in a role that addressed departmental operational needs until they entered the Fire Academy.
District Council 37 and Local 2507 challenged the appointments in an Article 78 proceeding, arguing that the cadets were not on the civil service eligibility lists for EMT appointments and that FDNY had bypassed qualified candidates already on those lists. The unions contended that the appointments violated Civil Service Law §§64 and 65, New York City personnel rules, and Article V, §6 of the New York Constitution, which requires civil service appointments to be made according to merit and fitness, generally through competitive examination. Here is our earlier coverage of the lawsuit’s filing last year.
Two earlier efforts by the unions to halt the appointments before the training course began were unsuccessful. The court first denied a temporary restraining order because of service issues, and later denied a second request after finding no showing of irreparable harm. As a result, the EMT course proceeded. Most of the cadets later moved into firefighter classes during late 2025 and early 2026. By the time the court reached the merits, only six cadets remained working in provisional EMT positions.
Justice Gerald Lebovits rejected the City’s argument that the matter had become academic because the training course had already ended. He found that the controversy remained live because six cadets were still serving in provisional EMT roles and were expected to remain there until the next firefighter class in fall 2026.
On the merits, the court held that the appointments were unlawful because eligible EMT candidate lists existed and FDNY had not identified any statutory basis allowing appointments outside those lists for longer than three months. The decision noted that Civil Service Law permits temporary appointments without regard to eligible lists only for up to three months, and even longer temporary appointments generally must still draw from an eligible list if one exists.
The court wrote that while FDNY asserted difficulty recruiting EMTs, it “does not dispute that lists of eligible EMT candidates exist,” and further stated that respondents did not explain why, “even in light of an asserted EMT shortage,” they were not required to use those eligible lists to fill the openings.
The order declares that FDNY violated Civil Service Law and city personnel rules by employing the six remaining cadets in EMT roles for more than three months, enjoins the department from continuing those appointments, and directs that the six positions be filled by individuals from the proper eligibility list.
Here is a copy of the decision:
