State Senate GOP wants Hochul order rescinded that bars terminated COs from government jobs

Press Release, State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt

ALBANY – Members of the Senate Republican Conference penned a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul calling for her to rescind Executive Order No. 47.3. Enacted in response to her failure to properly address strikes at correctional facilities statewide, the order bars 2,000 terminated state corrections officers from working for the State of New York or local agencies.

“(This order) is punitive and will only have a ripple effect, impacting not only the 2,000 correction officers but also the members of the National Guard that must continue to serve in our prisons,” the letter reads.

“Whether it be the thousands of corrections officers out of work without health insurance or the brave men and women of the National Guard being sent to hold our prisons together– the whole situation has been seriously mishandled since the start,” said Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt. “While the state is pandering to laid-off Federal workers and sticking it to the current administration, they are turning their backs on the brave public servants who have dedicated themselves to protecting their communities and our state.”

“This governor has sealed criminal records for the express purpose of helping felons find jobs, but she doesn’t believe in any second chances for correction officers who were enduring record violence and mandatory 24-hour shifts. It’s insulting,” said Senator Jake Ashby, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs. “The sooner our correctional facilities reach safe staffing levels, the sooner we can get our National Guard Troops out of a dangerous mission they were never properly trained for in the first place.”