DOCCS commissioner: correction officers can still return to work, will lose insurance Monday
ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) — The commissioner of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) put out a statement on Sunday afternoon giving striking correction officers another chance to return to work before losing health insurance.
DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello III shared the statement on the department's official social media accounts at about 12:20 p.m. on March 2. In the statement, Martuscello said that any officers and sergeants who remain on strike on Monday, March 3, will lose their health insurance that day. The strikers' dependents will also lose their healthcare, and this termination will be backdated to the date the officer began striking. According to the statement, strikers will not be eligible for COBRA, a federal program that allows some workers to keep their insurance at a premium after losing their jobs.
Martuscello made a personal appeal for strikers to return; he stated that he wants strikers to return even if they missed shifts. This statement comes less than 24 hours after strikers were sent a message through the New York State Department of Employee Relations that stated those who didn't return to work on March 1 like the consent award mandated would be fired on March 2 and lose their healthcare on March 3.
Hundreds of COs and supporters remained on strike at Elmira Correctional Facility on March 2 despite the notice.
Martuscello's full statement can be read below:
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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