NEW YORK — The union representing correction officers on Rikers Island has filed a lawsuit against the city, arguing officials improperly reinstated mandatory 12-hour shifts under the guise of a long-standing emergency order, the Queens Daily Eagle reports.
The Correction Officers Benevolent Association (COBA) says the Department of Correction (DOC) launched a pilot program at the Robert N. Davoren Center (RNDC) late in November without negotiating with the union, as required. According to the suit, the city relied on a mayoral executive order that has remained in place for more than four years — an order COBA argues doesn’t give the DOC the authority to change work schedules.
“DOC’s reliance upon the general state of emergency declared at DOC facilities is acting illegally, arbitrarily and capriciously,” the lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, says. “DOC’s alleged emergency for the implementation of these illegal 12-hour tours of duty is not a true emergency.”
A spokesperson for the city’s Law Department said the agency will review the complaint and respond in court.
Staffing challenges and past attempts to expand shifts
The lawsuit comes as Rikers continues to struggle with staffing shortages. The officer headcount has dropped by roughly 4,000 since March 2020 — from about 9,700 to around 5,770 — while the detainee population has grown from about 5,200 to 7,000, the Queens Daily Eagle reports.
During the height of the pandemic, the city temporarily required 12-hour shifts as thousands of officers called out sick each day. Under normal operations, officers work eight-hour tours starting at midnight, 8 a.m. or 4 p.m.
The DOC tried earlier this year to bring back 12-hour shifts, but retreated after COBA pushed back. The proposal resurfaced in the fall, leading to the new pilot program at RNDC that took effect Nov. 30. DOC held a series of town halls before launching the pilot, though many officers remained opposed.
“We are being experimented on,” COBA president Benny Boscio said.
COBA argues the DOC moved ahead “in heartless fashion” by rolling out the change just before the holidays and during the school year, leaving officers little time to adjust childcare and other responsibilities, according to the Queens Daily Eagle.
The pilot differs from previous versions of the 12-hour schedule. Instead of a full 12-hour tour, officers work an eight-hour shift followed by four hours of mandatory overtime — without the extended time off earlier 12-hour tours provided, the union said.
Executive orders at issue
The union’s legal challenge focuses on two executive orders issued in 2021 by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio. Executive Order 241 declared a state of emergency inside city jails and has been renewed every five days under Mayor Eric Adams, the Queens Daily Eagle reports. The order suspends certain rules but, COBA argues, doesn’t permit the city to alter shift lengths.
A second order, Executive Order 304, specifically authorized 12-hour shifts in response to staffing shortages expected when the city’s vaccine mandate took effect. COBA says that order expired when new DOC leadership ended the 12-hour tours in January 2022. The union also argues the justifications for the order no longer apply, as the vaccine mandate was repealed in February 2023, according to the Queens Daily Eagle.
The timing of the pilot — one month before Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani takes office and as a federal judge prepares to appoint an independent receiver to oversee Rikers — raised additional questions in the lawsuit.
“DOC’s decision to commence this 12-hour tour pilot with less than 30 days left in the Adams administration begs the question — what exactly was this pilot program necessary to achieve?” the filing says.
Boscio accused DOC Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie of pushing the pilot to strengthen her position with Mamdani, who has not yet named a DOC commissioner.
“This is her auditioning to the new administration to keep her job,” Boscio said.
The DOC declined to comment.
Do you believe the 12-hour shifts are sustainable long-term for officers at Rikers? Why or why not?
