KINGSTON — Our union recently joined state Sen. Michelle Hinchey at a news conference where they called for legislation allowing county probation officers access to the same disability coverage as other law enforcement to be signed into law.
The legislation would allow counties to opt in to disability coverage for their probation officers spelled out in Section 207-c of New York State Municipal Law. Currently, county probation officers injured on the job must rely on workers’ compensation and often have to draw on their own sick time accruals.
“Probation officers perform high-risk law enforcement duties every day, yet they are denied the line-of-duty injury protections granted to other peace officers,” said CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan. “Extending 207-c disability coverage to probation officers is a matter of fairness, safety, and basic workplace dignity.”
Statewide Secretary Stacey Baldwin Deyo, a probation supervisor in Greene County, spoke at the news conference, reflecting on how she and her co-workers faced the same risks as other law enforcement yet lacked equitable disability coverage.
Several CSEA activists working as probation officers in the Southern Region also spoke about how the lack of full coverage has impacted them, noting that they are often literally alongside other enforcement on the same call and facing the same risks.
The legislation, which Hinchey sponsored in the Senate and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin sponsored in the Assembly, awaits the governor’s signature.
— Jessica Ladlee