NYC mayor wins court decision on hospital layoffs

Mayor Michael Bloomberg had lost the first round.

Three labor unions had filed a petition in the Supreme Court of New York County, insisting that the job cuts by the Health and Hospitals Corporation, known as the HCC, would create an unsafe condition for patients and the staff members who continued to work at the facilities.

Last December, Supreme Court Justice Alice Schlesinger issued a permanent injunction blocking the layoffs, according to the appeals court decision. The Appellate Division, First Department, the state's mid-level court, ruled HHC failed to assess the potential impact the layoffs would have on safety.

HHC runs the nation's biggest public hospital system, with 11 hospitals, and its clients are mostly low-income patients.

Bloomberg had bashed the lower court for blocking cost savings.