Governor Kathy Hochul has outlined her administration’s plan to “recover, recruit, and rebuild” New York’s correctional system following the end of a 22-day illegal work stoppage by state correction officers.
Speaking on Tuesday, Hochul reaffirmed the state’s commitment to enhancing prison safety, supporting correctional staff, and expanding recruitment efforts while taking punitive action against those who participated in the strike.
The work stoppage, which began last month, saw thousands of correction officers walk off the job, prompting Hochul to deploy over 6,000 National Guard members to maintain prison security. With more than 10,000 correctional security personnel now back at work, Hochul announced that the state will implement measures to address officer concerns, including:
- Temporarily suspending portions of the HALT Act, which restricts the use of solitary confinement.
- Reducing mandatory overtime, which has been a major grievance among officers.
- Reviewing staffing levels and operational inefficiencies in each facility.
- Reinstating health insurance for returning employees and continuing an increased overtime pay rate for 30 days.
Despite these concessions, Hochul also took a hardline stance against striking workers, signing an executive order barring them from future state employment and recommending their removal from the Central Registry of Police and Peace Officers, effectively preventing them from being hired in law enforcement roles across the state. Approximately 2,000 termination notices are being issued to officers who did not return to work by the final deadline.
“My top priority is the safety and well-being of all New Yorkers,” Hochul said. “We have taken unprecedented steps to protect public safety, and I am grateful to those who stayed on the job. Now, we move forward to make our prisons safer, support our correctional staff, and recruit the officers of the future.”
Expanding recruitment efforts
With thousands of officers terminated or at risk of leaving, New York is intensifying its recruitment efforts to bolster its correctional workforce. Hochul’s plan includes:
- Boosting correction officer training at the New York Correction Officer Academy.
- Allowing out-of-state applicants to apply for correction officer positions.
- Launching a large-scale social media recruitment campaign, targeting military bases and upstate community colleges.
- Operating recruitment centers at major malls, including Destiny USA (Syracuse) and Champlain Centre (Plattsburgh).
- Expanding hiring incentives, such as the “CNY200” program, which offers direct placement for recruits.
Congressman Langworthy condemns Hochul’s executive order
Hochul’s executive order barring striking officers from future state employment drew strong criticism from Republican Congressman Nick Langworthy, who called the move “vindictive” and “disgraceful.”
“These brave men and women engaged in a strike as a last resort because they were pushed to a breaking point,” Langworthy said in a statement. “Instead of negotiating in good faith, Hochul ripped their children off their health insurance, fired them, and is now trying to prevent them from gaining future employment. A federal investigation into this blatant overreach can’t come soon enough.”
As New York moves forward with its correctional system overhaul, the political and legal fallout from the mass firings is expected to continue.
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