Albany, NY – New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang recently released a report previously provided to the New York State Governor’s Office of Employee Relations (OER) detailing patterns of egregious workers’ compensation abuse by DOCCS security staff, arguably incentivized by existing contract terms, with recommendations for use in ongoing contract negotiations.
The report notes that since the enactment of DOCCS’ collectively bargained labor contract in 2015, the Offices of the New York State Inspector General has received hundreds of complaints alleging that DOCCS correction officers are abusing the lost wage benefits afforded to them under that agreement.
The complaints have been echoed by staff at many of the 44 DOCCS correctional facilities visited by the Inspector General over the past year, and have resulted in a daily struggle to simultaneously ensure safety while maintaining the delivery of critical services in the face of significant workers’ compensation-driven staffing shortages.
“My Office is committed to identifying systemic failures that compromise state government’s ability to serve vulnerable New Yorkers,” said New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang. “Our report highlights the volume of workers’ compensation abuse that has occurred under the existing incentive structure of the labor contract. We will continue to do our part to ferret out fraud and encourage anyone with information to reach us at 1-800-DO RIGHT.”
Read the full report: NY OIG: Report on Workers’ Compensation Claims at DOCCS (PDF)
Source: NY OIG’s Office