Local municipalities can now hire fired corrections officers who were on strike

An executive order from Gov. Kathy Hochul prevented fired corrections officers on strike from seeking jobs with local municipalities.

That order from March 10 sparked widespread opposition from counties around the state, including Orleans County, which wanted to interview the COs for vacancies in local government.

But the counties, towns, villages and school districts weren’t able to hire the fired COs, based on Hochul’s order. Orleans County officials passed a resolution on March 20, calling for Hochul to rescind her executive order.

County legislators said the terminated COs should be considered to help fill vacancies in the county government.

“The governor’s executive order does a disservice to the public by taking away a pool of highly qualified applicants from jobs we need filled,” Legislator John Fitzak, a retired CO at Orleans Correctional, said on March 20. “It is mean-spirited, revengeful, and immoral and, as such, should be immediately repealed.”

The governor has allowed that executive order to expire on Wednesday.

The ban on the 2,000 fired COs from jobs in state government remains in effect.

The state fired the officers after they refused to meet a deadline for reporting to work on March 10 after a strike at state prisons that lasted 22 days.