The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) sent a letter to striking correction officers that they will be terminated.

DOCCS said the letter was sent to staff who have missed 11 consecutive shifts or more.

The letter was written by DOCCS’s Commissioner Daniel Martuscello.

Martuscello also wrote in the letter that officers on strike “did not provide a satisfactory explanation for this absence on or before March 2, 2025, the eleventh workday following the commencement of your unauthorized absence.”

“In terms of terminations, we have only at this point terminated a handful, less than 10 corrections officers. These are officers who have been AWOL for 10 days in a row on their work days and then missed that 11th shift. That will continue to evolve over the next several days,” said Jackie Bray, Commissioner of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.

This comes as DOCCS sent out warnings Saturday to striking correction officers on the picket lines. Retired correction officers tell NewsChannel 13 that about 140 workers returned to work at Coxsackie Correctional Facility since that text.

Sunday was the 14th day of correction officers on strike across New York State. Officers were on the picket lines fighting for what they said are fair work conditions.

Correction officers said their safety was always on the line at work in the past few years due to legislation passed such as the HALT law. Even with DOCCS temporarily suspending parts of HALT, officers wanted a permanent suspension of all of it. The HALT law limits how much time that inmates can spend in solitary confinement.

This is a breaking story, stay with NewsChannel 13 for updates on air and online at WNYT.com.