The city Correction Department has seen a mysterious jump over the past 18 months in the numbers of officers taking time off under laws that allow leave for pregnancies and caring for sick relatives — sparking concerns that officers are using the leaves as their own literal get-out-of-jail-free card, according to data and correction sources.
Until August 2023, the number of officers out each day on so-called FMLA leave was fairly steady at around 45 a day on average, according to department figures cited in a November report by the federal monitor tracking violence and uses of force in the jails.
The total jumped to an average of 86 officers a day in August 2023 and then to about 110 a day on average one month later, the figures show. The daily average has remained consistently above 110 since then, the figures show. In 2024, the average was 113 officers a day — or 151% higher than in the summer of 2023.
These increases are much smaller than those in the postpandemic sick leave scandal of 2021 and 2022, when it was routine for 1,500 officers a day to be out, and some officers were charged with crimes over their absences, but the rise was important enough to be mentioned in the little-noticed November report by the monitor.
“While the department appears to have effectively curbed abuses in these areas [sick leave], a problem involving potential abuses of Family Medical Leave Act and Personal Emergency leave has emerged,” the federal monitoring team tracking violence and staff use of force in the jails noted in November. “Staff are also not utilizing Personal Emergency time as designed.”
The number of officers out per day on personal emergency leave also rose, from 30 in 2022 to 44 in 2024 — a 47% jump, the figures show.
The federal Family Leave and Medical Act provides for 12 to 26 weeks of unpaid leave for special time away from work for situations like pregnancies and caring for a loved one who is sick. State law provides for 12 weeks of paid leave.
Multiple Correction Department sources claimed one factor is that some officers use the FMLA allowances as de facto sick days without obtaining prior approval.
“They’re using it like a bank card. They will call and say I’m FMLA-ing for today, or the next two hours. Why is it happening? Because the commissioner’s not holding them accountable for it,” a source said.
Union officials didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The sources said the problem emerged in a more pronounced way after the crackdown on sick leave abuse that included home visits by correction investigators to verify the reported illness. “You have officers who might be allowed one to three days a month, but they are going over 10 or 15 days,” a source said.
Maureen Sheehan, a former Correction Department deputy director of investigations, said one issue has been that the agency has been lax in checking the paperwork that is supposed to be filed and approved whenever a staffer goes out on FMLA.
“It’s hard to even know if they took an FMLA day because it’s just handwritten into a logbook at the facility,” she said. “There’s no one really checking.”
The disclosure emerges as the department is once again struggling with staffing shortages. On March 7, the Daily News reported that Correction Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie backed down on a plan to move to 12-hour tours after a staff revolt. It’s unclear what her next plan will be.
In remarks to the City Council that same day, Maginley-Liddie cited a 32% increase in the jail population during Mayor Adams’ three-year tenure to 6,900 detainees along with a 20% drop in officers to about 6,000 during the same period. Some 700 officers will be eligible to retire this year, with an additional 750 in 2026, she said.
“As we move into this next fiscal year, we must confront some hard truths,” she said.
Correction Department spokesmen did not directly address a connection between the 12-hour tour plan and the FMLA numbers. But they noted that the percentage of staff out on sick leave has dropped from 22% in December 2021 to 11% in December 2022 to 7% in December 2024.
Officers who are “medically restricted,” or barred from working directly with detainees, has also dropped from 10% in December 2021 to 5% in December 2024.
“The NYC Department of Correction holds our staff to the highest standards. Any unbecoming conduct will be investigated,” department press secretary Annais Morales said. “As we said before, our scheduling strategies are intended to address staffing challenges while improving coverage, predictability and work-life balance for our dedicated staff.
The Correction Department declined to provide statistics on how many officers are directly working in the jails on a given day or offer an explanation for the increase in officers out each day on FMLA and emergency leave except to reiterate that abuse allegations are investigated.
Morales said recruiting is a priority of the agency, noting that the city’s fiscal 2026 budget includes $5 million for that purpose.