Workers’ Compensation for DOCCS Employees Jumped 20% in FY2026 amid Slight Decrease in Reported Incidents Filed Per Worker
October 15, 2026
Contact: media@correctionalassociation.org
Newly released data show that in state fiscal year 2025-2026, the amount of workers’ compensation paid to DOCCS employees increased just over 20 percent and resulted in more than 93,000 lost work days, while individual facilities have seen as many as 85 incidents reported per 100 full-time equivalent workers.
Brooklyn, NY – The Correctional Association of New York (CANY) today published an update to its Workers’ Compensation Dashboard, which presents data on workers’ compensation issued to employees of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS).
Key Findings include:
In FY2026, DOCCS employees received more than $255 million in workers’ compensation, an increase of 20.2 percent from FY2025. The total average compensation per full-time equivalent increased 36.5 percent to $14,832.
Together, these payouts resulted in 93,184 lost work days for DOCCS across the statewide system.
The total number of incidents reported fell by about 12.4 percent; staffing levels decreased at a similar rate. The number of lost work days per full-time equivalent fell from 6.1 to 5.4
Marcy Correctional Facility saw the highest rate of incidents reported, at 85.9 per 100 full-time equivalents. Mid-State Correctional Facility saw 66.0 incidents reported per 100 full-time equivalents, and Bedford Hills Correctional Facility saw 58.6 per 100 full-time equivalents.
Marcy, Mid-State, and Bedford Hills Correctional Facilities lost a total of 11,933 work days due to workers’ compensation-related absences. Employees at those three facilities received nearly $41 million in workers’ compensation.
CANY’s Workers' Compensation Dashboard presents data from the New York State Department of Civil Service’s Annual Report of New York State Government Employees’ Workers' Compensation Claims. A 2023 report by the New York State Inspector General report identified systemic misuse of workers’ compensation by DOCCS employees as a “burgeoning crisis” that, amid a broader staffing crisis, has imperiled safety and delivery of critical services in state prisons. In 2026, WilmerHale’s external review of DOCCS recommended DOCCS track trends in workers’ compensation claims as a key performance indicator to measure the efficacy of its employee wellness strategy. By publishing this information, CANY aims to increase transparency regarding the use of workers’ compensation, which is essential for identifying patterns and facilitating corrective actions to protect employees, incarcerated individuals, and taxpayers.
View CANY’s updated Workers’ Compensation Dashboard at:
About CANY
CANY, under §146 of New York’s Correction Law, is charged with visiting and examining the state's correctional facilities to identify and report on prison conditions, the treatment of incarcerated individuals, and the administration of policy promulgated by the executive and legislature. Founded in 1844 by concerned citizens of the state and deputized by the state to provide monitoring and oversight of the state’s prisons in 1846, CANY is one of the first organizations in the country prescribed to administer civilian oversight of prisons.
