911 operators say they’re overworked and it’s putting New Yorkers in danger

NYPD 911 dispatchers play an essential role in the city's emergency response system, but they say that routinely being made to work double shifts and being dissuaded from taking sick days is leaving them exhausted and burnt out.

Interviews with union representatives and three current dispatchers as well as internal memos and screenshots of an employee Facebook page show that in recent months, dispatchers have been made to work back-to-back shifts, meaning they’re often kept at work for up to 16 hours a day and 80 hours a week. The dispatchers said inadequate staffing was the reason several people reported that they couldn’t get a 911 operator to pick up the phone when a truck exploded in Long Island City in July.

The allegations come a few years after the city settled a federal class-action lawsuit in which dispatchers accused the NYPD of breaching their contract by routinely requiring employees to work overtime. The plaintiffs also claimed the department was racially discriminating against 911 operators, who are predominantly people of color, and retaliating against dispatchers who took sick days or FMLA leave.

“We're essential workers only on storms, during 9/11, through crisis,” said union steward Arisleyda Estrella-Skinner, who has worked as a dispatcher for about seven years. “But we're not essential or valued on any other day when things happen.”

Justine Ortiz from the city’s law department said she had “no information to share” about whether the ongoing claims of poor working conditions could violate the terms of the settlement.

The NYPD did not respond to a list of questions from Gothamist about working conditions. In a statement, an unnamed spokesperson said dispatchers play a “vital role” in keeping New Yorkers safe.

“The NYPD’s Police Communications Technicians work around the clock to answer calls for help and provide a high level of professionalism under the most challenging circumstances,” according to the statement.

Officials did not admit any wrongdoing in the 2019 settlement and spent years disputing the accusations in court. But the NYPD ultimately promised to allow dispatchers to take time off, even during mandatory overtime shifts, as well as meet regularly with the union to discuss work conditions. The city also agreed to pay $1,000 to each of the eight named plaintiffs and $200 to the rest of the dispatchers who had been employed by the department in the last three years.

The city’s Independent Budget Office says that nearly all budgeted positions for 911 operators are filled — a claim that union leaders dispute. The union claims they’ve been told by management that about 400 of the city’s approximately 1,500 dispatcher positions are unfilled and are the reason for the long shifts and reminders about sick leaves.

Some dispatchers told Gothamist that many operators have been calling out sick because they are too tired to work. The NYPD ignored requests to provide information on absenteeism, and would not address claims that dispatchers are routinely being made to work double shifts.

Unlike sworn officers, dispatchers do not get unlimited sick time. They can accrue up to 12 days annually. Recent directives from NYPD officials to for 911 call center employees have reminded supervisors to collect doctors’ notes when their employees return to work after more than three days off due to illness, and informed dispatchers employees that they would be rated “below standards” on their annual performance evaluations if they took 13 or more sick days in a year.

NYPD dispatchers are paid significantly less than many of their counterparts in other departments, in spite of New York City’s high call volume. NYPD dispatchers start at as little as $42,976 and max out at $58,189 after three years of service, according to the department’s website. The top pay for supervisors is $74,948.

A recent pay study found that 911 operators in Nassau County can earn up to $75,000, while the top salaries in Los Angeles and Boston are around $100,000.

The union agreed to a new contract earlier this year that secured 3% annual raises through 2024 and a 3.25% raise in 2025. But several 911 dispatchers say those raises will not bring them up to the industry standards or resolve their concerns about work conditions.

The extended work days are compounded by lengthy commutes for many dispatchers — especially those who work at the NYPD’s call center in the northeast Bronx, which is far from public transit. Union representatives said dispatchers who work there often spend more than three hours traveling to and from work and have as few as eight hours between shifts, which gives them only a few hours to sleep each night.

‘We’re essential workers’

Nationwide, dispatchers agree that their work can be mentally and emotionally draining even under the best conditions. Dispatchers are inundated with calls about all kinds of emergencies, and the speed and quality of their response can literally mean the difference between life and death.

Several studies conducted in recent years have found that 911 operators can face elevated risks for secondary traumatic stress and post-traumatic stress disorder. Researchers have also found that organizational issues, such as poor work conditions and lack of support from management, can compound dispatchers’ stress.

The calls 911 operators receive can be traumatizing. One dispatcher said she can still hear the screams of a police officer who was shot several years ago. While the civilian employees acknowledged that they’re not physically running toward danger like sworn officers do, several said they feel the NYPD and city officials don’t recognize the intensity of their work in the same way they do for police.

“You can’t get it out of your head,” she said.

Dispatchers who spoke with Gothamist expressed worry that a mistake made while working on limited sleep could endanger members of the public or police who rely on dispatchers for information when responding to emergencies.

“When you call 911 on any given day lately, and you don't get through, that's a very scary situation,” Estrella-Skinner said. “When you're being either shot at in New York City, you're being attacked in a New York City subway station, your baby is not breathing, you’re not getting through to any EMS worker without speaking to one of us first.”