ALBANY, N.Y. – Republican lawmakers in Albany are pushing back on an executive order from Gov. Kathy Hochul that bars fired prison guards from working for New York State agencies.

Members of the Senate Republican Conference are asking Hochul to rescind the order, calling it “cruel and vindictive.” They say the governor helps convicted felons find jobs but doesn’t support former corrections officers. However, Hochul says she’s standing by her order.

“I’d be very cautious because these individuals had a responsibility to protect the public and the incarcerated population and they walked off the job,” Hochul said. “That’s what we had to deal with for 22 days and to say that we’re going to forget? I will never forget that. They’re not ever working for the state of New York.”

Over 2,000 corrections officers were fired to end the strikes at prisons across the state that lasted three weeks. The corrections officers who returned to work and accepted a deal that their union negotiated won’t face any discipline.

Fired corrections officers will be able to work for other law enforcement agencies. However, all New York state agencies have been directed to never hire them.

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