New York's prison system paid about $255 million in workers' compensation benefits during the 2025-26 fiscal year, up 20% from the previous year, even as the number of reported work-related incidents fell. Incident rates rose at Auburn and Cayuga correctional facilities in Cayuga County, according to newly updated state data compiled by the Correctional Association of New York.
The association's workers' compensation data, drawn from the state Department of Civil Service's annual report, show $255,026,901 in compensation payments for all open Department of Corrections and Community Supervision claims. That compares with $212,157,984 in 2024-25. The average per full-time-equivalent worker rose 36.5% to $14,832. The payments can include claims tied to injuries from earlier years; they are not all costs from new incidents in 2025-26.
Across the prison system, 5,876 work-related incidents were recorded, down from 6,707 the year before. The number of full-time-equivalent employees also fell, from 19,531 to 17,194. As a result, the systemwide incident rate changed little, from about 34.3 to 34.2 incidents per 100 full-time-equivalent workers. An incident count is not a count of individual employees; one person can be involved in more than one report.
The system recorded 93,184 lost workdays, down from 118,430. Lost days per full-time-equivalent worker fell from about 6.1 to 5.4.
Cayuga County facilities move against statewide trend
At Auburn Correctional Facility, reported incidents increased from 244 to 303 while staffing measured in full-time equivalents fell from 674 to 598. Its incident rate rose from 36.2 to 50.7 per 100 full-time equivalents.
At Cayuga Correctional Facility in Moravia, incidents doubled from 57 to 114 as full-time equivalents declined from 328 to 274. The rate rose from 17.4 to 41.6. The state identifies both facilities as being in Cayuga County.
The pattern was not uniform across the Finger Lakes. Five Points Correctional Facility in Seneca County recorded 215 incidents, down from 301, and its rate fell from 56.3 to 46.0. Elmira's rate declined from 19.3 to 17.1, while Groveland's fell from 21.1 to 14.3. Those figures come from the association's downloadable facility-level data, not from a survey of employees.
Statewide, the highest facility rates were at Marcy, with 85.9 incidents per 100 full-time equivalents, Mid-State, with 66.0, and Bedford Hills, with 58.6. Those figures do not establish why rates differ; the association cautions against comparing facilities without considering their size and population.
Older claims account for the payment increase
The $255 million figure covers compensation paid during the fiscal year on all open claims. By contrast, compensation costs tied to incidents that occurred in the year fell to about $9.9 million from $11.2 million. The two measures answer different questions and should not be treated as competing totals for the same group of claims.
The association said the data can help identify patterns that warrant closer review. Its release noted that a 2023 state inspector general's report found systemic misuse of a lost-wage benefit among corrections employees, and that a 2026 external review of DOCCS recommended tracking workers' compensation trends as a measure of its employee-wellness strategy. The latest facility totals alone do not establish whether any particular claim was improper.
The dashboard cautions that incident reporting and claim processing can vary, and that comparisons between facilities should account for their size and the populations they house. The state's fiscal year ran from April 1, 2025, through March 31, 2026; the annual report included incidents reported through June 30.
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