Political Action

PEF supported several important bills in the 2024 Legislative Session and now they are in the hands of Gov. Kathy Hochul, who can sign them into laws or veto them. To keep the pressure on, we need your help! The Governor has a Contact Form on the State’s website where voters can contact her about any issue. Please fill out a new form for each letter you wish to send and then copy and paste the bold language into the subject field and the italicized portion into the Message field. It only takes a few minutes, but it can make a huge difference for the employees and the people of New York!

LETTER #1: Address temperature issues in DOCCS facilities
Dear Governor Hochul:

As a member of the 54,000-member Public Employees Federation, I urge you to sign legislation to address the heat issues in the state’s correctional facilities (S.7781-A by Senator Harckham/A.9169-A by Asm. Burdick). 

This legislation would require that the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) develop a heat mitigation plan and consider implementing one or more specific options to keep incarcerated individuals and staff cool during the summer months.

Many of our correctional facilities are older and have inadequate or non-existent air conditioning systems.  As the state continues its long-term transition to greater reliance on geo-thermal technologies to address temperature regulation in state facilities, it is critical in the near term to address the negative effects of excessive heat on incarcerated individuals and staff.

As a PEF member and a voter, I urge you to approve this important legislation.

Please copy and paste into this form.

LETTER #2: Bullying and abusive conduct language and training
Dear Governor Hochul,

As a member of the 54,000-member Public Employees Federation, I encourage you to sign legislation to address “bullying” and “abusive conduct” in the workplace into law (S.3065-A by Sen. Ramos/A.8934-B by Asm. Bronson).

This legislation adds “abusive conduct” and “bullying” in the state’s workplace violence prevention law.  This legislation also requires training for all employees on such terms to reduce the incidences of abusive behavior at the workplace and requires agencies to develop reports on incidents of bullying and/or abusive conduct.

According to a 2021 survey, 30% of workers have directly experienced bullying while at work. People who work remotely were more likely to report such bullying, with 43% responding that they had been bullied on the job. This legislation seeks to address bullying in the worksite by educating managers and staff about the nature and impact of such conduct and outlining the processes available to those who are subject to bullying and/or abusive conduct.  As an employer, the state of New York has a responsibility to train its employees to identify abusive conduct and/or bullying and to educate staff on the remedies available to the affected employees to seek redress.

Once again, I urge you to sign this important legislation into law.

Please copy and paste into this form.

LETTER #3: Make Section 72 hearing officer determinations binding
Dear Governor Hochul:

As a member of the 54,000-member Public Employees Federation, I urge you to sign legislation to make the determination of the hearing officer binding in proceedings advanced under Section 72 of the Civil Service Law.  (A.9932 by Asm. Pheffer Amato/S.8960 by Sen. Jackson).

Under current law, employees have ten days to request a hearing after service of a notice that the employer is imposing a leave of absence for disability other than occupational injury or disease. Where a hearing has been requested, an independent hearing officer is appointed after agreement by the appointing authority and the employee. The hearing officer conducts the hearing and makes recommendations on the case. However, the determination by the hearing officer is not binding.  The appointing authority has the responsibility to render a final determination within ten working days of the date of receipt of the hearing officer’s report and recommendation. The determination on an employees’ fitness to perform work-related functions due to mental or physical disability can have long-lasting consequences for the employee. It makes no sense for employers and employees to go through this process, deploy their time and resources to present evidence, and expend taxpayer money, only to have the determination of the independent hearing officer ignored by the employer. The determination of an independent hearing officer for Section 72 proceedings should be binding on the employee and the employer.  Allowing employers to overrule independent hearing officers on these fitness cases gives the appearance of impropriety and unfairness and increases the likelihood of time consuming and costly appeals by affected employees.

Once again, I urge you to sign this important legislation into law.

Please copy and paste into this form.

LETTER #4: Expand Worker’s Compensation occupations for work-related stress
Dear Governor Hochul,

As a member of the 54,000-member Public Employees Federation, I encourage you to sign legislation to expand the occupations eligible to file a workers’ compensation claim for “mental injury premised upon extraordinary work-related stress” into law (S.6635 by Sen. Ramos/A.5745 by Asm. Reyes).

Currently, the law only applied to police officers, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics and emergency dispatchers.  This legislation would make all employees eligible for this benefit. The requirement that stress would have to be greater than what usually occurs in the normal work environment would remain.

Many New Yorkers have stressful jobs.  However, with COVID-19, many employees have been overwhelmed and this law would help some workers who may no longer be able to handle the pressure.  Numerous state employees face “burnout” and this is a major factor for workers leaving state employment.  Mandated overtime, out-of-title work and intense pressure have led to over 12,500 state positions being unfilled, causing additional stress on the remaining workers.

I urge you to sign this important legislation into law.

Please copy and paste into this form.

LETTER #5: Regulate and disclose use of AI by state agencies
Dear Governor Hochul,

As a member of the 54,000-member Public Employees Federation, I urge you to sign legislation to disclose and regulate the use of artificial intelligence by state agencies into law (S.7543-B by Sen. Gonzalez/A.9430-B by Asm. Otis)

Artificial Intelligence and other computer-aided decision making has become an issue of major concern over the last few years. Some of the reasons for concern include security, privacy and built-in biases. This bill would ensure that the public is aware of which state agencies are using it and for what purposes.

It is critical that New York closely monitors the acquisition and implementation of AI systems and it is equally important to undertake periodic reviews of those applications. There are already examples of significant errors in existing AI applications, like DOCCS use of the COMPAS program to determine the dangerousness of individuals on parole and the appropriate frequency of parole visits. There are also reports of AI being used to generate audit determinations at the Department of Taxation and Finance.

Unregulated and non-transparent expansion of AI systems into government decision making processes – like social services, unemployment insurance benefit determinations, and workers’ compensation claims – is completely irresponsible and potentially dangerous. This bill would require continued meaningful human review of AI that impacts public assistance benefits, civil liberties, or Constitutional rights.

While AI will likely prove to be a powerful tool to increase productivity, it comes with great responsibility and the need for human oversight. Concerns over AI-generated discrimination and bias will continue, especially without the public knowing what programs are being used and how they are being utilized. This legislation does not prohibit the use of AI, except for programs that are known to be biased.

It would allow for the public to be aware of the extent of AI usage by state agencies. In addition, the bill would protect and preserve the labor rights of public employees by prohibiting any displacement of workers or reduction in their normal hours.

I urge you to sign this important legislation into law as soon as possible.

Please copy and paste into this form.

LETTER #6: Require transparency into the operations of OPWDD
Dear Governor Hochul,

As a member of the 54,000-member Public Employees Federation, I encourage you to sign legislation to require transparency into the operations of OPWDD into law (S.3105-A by Sen. Mannion/A.9523 by Asm. Seawright).

Since the pandemic, New York state has closed hundreds of residential facilities operated by OPWDD.  This has resulted in the displacement of hundreds of individuals with developmental disabilities who rely on the state for care and placed an undue hardship on staff who are required to travel farther to work.

OPWDD continues to cite staffing challenges and facility management problems for the continued “suspension of services” or outright closure of these residential facilities.  However, to date and even after your veto of similar legislation in 2022, the office has not disclosed the nature of the staffing crisis at each facility, the specific facilities that are experiencing physical plant or lease problems, or the steps the office is taking to address any of these issues.

This legislation provides greater transparency into the operations of OPWDD and will provide greater clarity on what steps need to be taken to address this crisis.  Taxpayers, workers, families, and communities have a right to know how the state is managing these assets and how the state plans to meet its ongoing obligations to care for the individuals with developmental disabilities that it serves.

Once again, I urge you to sign this important legislation into law.

Please copy and paste into this form.