State Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, speaks during a visit with striking corrections officers in February at the Lakeview Correctional Facility.

State Sen. George Borrello is co-sponsoring legislation that would give a grace period for corrections officers who were fired earlier this year to return to work.

S.7310 was introduced recently by Sen. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, would allow reinstatement of former state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision employees who were fired after wildcat strikes that began in February.

Employees would be reinstated without disciplinary penalty and allow for any former employee who resigned during the strike to be eligible for reinstatement. The bill would also bar the premature recall between Feb. 18 and July 1, 2025 of former employees on pre-approved leave, such as medical, workers compensation and paid parental leave.

“The recent termination of about 2,000 DOCCS employees in the wake of the work stoppage, which commenced on Feb. 18, 2025, significantly exacerbated the longstanding staffing crisis at prisons operated by the state

Department of Corrections and Community Supervision,” Stec wrote in his legislative justification. “It would take at least five years to replace 2,000 correction officers through the state academy process. Meanwhile, the state is spending an estimated $100 million a month on the National Guard members who have been tapped to fill in the ranks, according to the state Budget Division.”

Stec, Borrello and several Republicans who have signed on as cosponsors of S.7310 say the state would save money by cutting spending on National Guard soldiers who have been sent to staff prisons in the wake of the strike. Borrello has been critical of Gov. Kathy Hochul throughout this year’s wildcat prison strikes that ended with the state’s firing of more than 2,000 guards who went on strike over poor working conditions. State corrections Commissioner Daniel Martuscello recently directed prison leaders to begin identifying inmates who were convicted of minor crimes and already set for release within 15 to 110 days to be considered for an early discharge. Borrello criticized the early release plan, saying they may not have been necessary had Hochul handled the correction officer firings differently. He has regularly called for fired corrections officers to be rehired as a way to alleviate staffing shortages in state prisons.

Borrello’s calls for more manpower in state prisons predates the strikes.

“What makes this even more infuriating is that, while the governor claims the staffing crisis leaves her no choice, she continues to deny countless correction officers-many of whom were wrongfully terminated while on FMLA or Workers’ Comp – the opportunity to return to work,” Borrello said recently. “She could take steps towards easing this crisis tomorrow by reinstating these experienced, willing officers. Instead, we’re seeing one reckless policy after another put communities at risk and erode the rule of law. New Yorkers deserve a government that prioritizes safety, accountability, and the hardworking men and women who uphold it — not one that keeps stumbling through crises of its own making.”