PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (WCAX) – New York’s prison system is driving a ballooning overtime bill for state employees, accounting for more than 80% of the $1.6 billion paid out last year despite nominal hiring gains.
The New York State Comptroller’s Office says $1.6 billion was paid out in overtime to state employees last year.
Assistant Comptroller Matt Golden says some agencies incurred more costs than others. The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision leads the list.
“This year we saw that corrections accounted for over 80% of the increase,” Golden said.
Golden says it’s not unusual that DOCCS is the primary driver of overtime costs, especially last year, when the state fired nearly 3,000 workers following the illegal wildcat strikes at state prisons across New York.
“Since 2020, we have lost almost 30% of our workforce in the Department of Corrections, and unfortunately, we are a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week system, and there are a lot of unknowns that happen every day,” said John Roberts with the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association. He says correction workers had all vacation time cancelled last year. Now, almost every worker has to work an additional 20 hours a week. “It’s not sustainable to make someone work 60 hours a week, week in, week out, forever, with no break for a mental health day, to take a week and clear your head, unwind from the prison setting.”
The comptroller’s office says they’d like to see overtime costs go down, pointing to solutions at the state level. “It’s likely the state is falling short when it comes to appropriate staffing. So, policies that will bring more qualified people into the workforce should always be examined,” Golden said.
DOCCS did not respond to a request for comment regarding the agency’s overtime.
As of last fall, Gov. Kathy Hochul says there’s been a nearly 160% increase in people taking the corrections officer exam. However, nearly 3,000 National Guard members are still filling in at state prisons.
Copyright 2026 WCAX. All rights reserved.