Gov. Hochul blocks fired corrections officers from state and law enforcement jobs

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Governor Kathy Hochul is issuing an executive order to prevent other state agencies from hiring former corrections officers who were fired for their involvement in the illegal strikes.

On Monday, the Department of Corrections & Community Supervision (DOCCS) terminated about 2,000 officers who did not return to work after three weeks of striking. Public employees cannot strike under state law. Those that remained on the picket line were also doing so in direct defiance of a judge's restraining order, meaning there had been the possibility of law enforcement arresting officers on a criminal contempt charge.

Governor Hochul is pointing to those two issues in her order designed to block state employment of the fired officers.

READ MORE: NYS Dept. of Corrections & Community Supervision declares strikes over

"New York State is committed to the fair and merit-based hiring of public employees and to ensuring that all individuals appointed to State Service uphold the law and their oath of public office. Individuals participating in illegal strikes have willfully violated the Taylor Law and an order of the Supreme Court of the State of New York by engaging in misconduct that undermines the public trust, demonstrates disregard for the law, disrupts public services, and is inconsistent with suitability for public service roles," the order stated.

The order also directs DOCCS to report the fired officers to the New York State Central Registry of Police & Peace Officers. It also recommends removal based on participating in the strike. This would disqualify them from applying for local law enforcement positions within New York.

Monday was the culmination of three weeks of strikes, not sanctioned by the officers' union, as officers statewide picketed outside of dozens of facilities. Officers said they went on strike to protest violent, unsafe working conditions and mandated overtime hours.

Officers who returned to work will not face repercussions beyond fines under the Taylor Law, which allows the state to take two days of pay for every day that an officer was on strike.

About 10,000 officers are now back at work. There were 13,500 officers before the strikes began in mid-February.

READ MORE: Inside deteriorating conditions in New York prisons as strikes continue