December 17, 2024 — Four PEF priority bills were submitted to Gov. Hochul on Dec. 2, having passed both houses of the State Legislature. The governor signed two of those bills into law and vetoed two of them. Two additional PEF priorities remain outstanding.
Bills passed: DOCCS heat and death benefits
With Governor Hochul’s signature, the commissioner of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) is now responsible for identifying workable solutions to regulate the temperature inside correctional facilities.
PEF supported the bill as a health and safety initiative. Many of the state’s facilities were built more than 100 years ago, before air conditioning was even an option.
In signing the bill, Governor Hochul recognized issues related to extreme heat in DOCCS facilities but said that much of the state is already implementing the measures contained in the legislation.
“Technical changes are also necessary to address certain security and feasibility challenges associated with the required measure and eliminate the requirement to adopt certain technology that is unsuitable for New York’s climate,” Hochul wrote in her approval memo that accompanied the legislation.
“PEF is grateful to its members for mobilizing to care of their union siblings who work at DOCCS,” said PEF President Wayne Spence.
The other bill signed into law by the Governor focuses on the benefits awarded to families of employees who pass away during the time between filing for retirement and their final day of work. Though such timing is rare, PEF members and other State employees do sometimes die during that time period, and the toll it can take on families of the deceased can add to the pain of losing a loved one.
Beneficiaries will now receive a lifetime monthly benefit if a retirement application has already been filed before a loved one passes away.
“It is heartening to know that PEF members supported this law not for themselves, but for the family and loved ones of their fellow members, should the unthinkable happen and they pass away during this period of time,” said President Spence.
Bills vetoed: Section 72 recommendation unchanged, no new hospital closure notifications
Under current Section 72 law, if an employer believes that an employee is unable to perform duties due to a physical or mental disability, they may request a medical review. The employee then requests a hearing subject to Section 72 of the Civil Service Law and an independent hearing officer makes a recommendation. However, the officer’s recommendation is not binding. The employer has the right to reject it.
A bill that would make an officer’s recommendation permanent and legally binding was vetoed by Governor Hochul. Had she signed it, it would have helped State employees like PEF member Natasha Pecue, who had her Section 72 recommendation overturned by her employer last year and was told—again, by the employer—that she had to pay the employer for time spent on the hearing process. PEF was able to appeal the decision, but Pecue was unable to keep her job.
And finally, Governor Hochul vetoed a measure that would have required the State to alert the public at least nine months in advance of any decision to close a general hospital or a unit that provides emergency, maternity, mental health or substance use care.
PEF members argued in their letters to the Governor that what happened last year at SUNY Downstate – when the chancellor abruptly announced plans to transfer critical services to nearby Kings County Hospital – should not be allowed to happen again because it is so disruptive to underserved communities. PEF and the “Brooklyn Needs Downstate” coalition successfully stopped the effort at Downstate, and will closely monitor any changes to the State’s healthcare delivery system to prevent it from happening again, at Downstate or elsewhere.
Bills still in waiting
In what’s left of 2024, Governor Hochul may still consider two additional PEF priorities – a bill to regulate Artificial Intelligence and one to train employers and employees about bullying in the workplace. Members can read more about each bill and take action by sending a letter to the Governor via a form on her website, on PEF’s Political Action page.