COs to be considered AWOL, lose state-sponsored health insurance for participating in “illegal job action.”
COs to be considered AWOL, lose state-sponsored health insurance for participating in “illegal job action.”
COs to be considered AWOL, lose state-sponsored health insurance for participating in “illegal job action.”
After nearly a week of prison strikes across the state of New York, including in the North Country, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision tells NBC5 that for every day correction officers are on strike, their pay will be docked.
Additionally, they will be considered absent without leave. As a result, the state of New York will terminate their state-sponsored health insurance. DOCCS says that those that continue to participate in the walkouts, will face administrative penalties. The department is calling their actions “illegal” and that COs are risking the safety and security of the facilities.
DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello released a memo earlier this week that said anyone that would continue working in the prisons would get a temporary increased overtime pay rate.
He also says that there would be immunity from discipline for anyone that would return to work. The department says this led several people returning to work.
The protests follow complaints from both former and current corrections officers, who claim they have been working under unsafe conditions and are demanding the state revoke the Halt Act.
A mediator has been appointed to facilitate talks between New York State and the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, as protests outside state prisons continue into a second week.
This is a developing story.
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