A state Supreme Court judge in Albany County has placed a temporary injunction against New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive order in Oneida County barring correction officers who were fired for striking from being hired by local municipalities unless they go through a specific program, according to court papers obtained Wednesday by Spectrum News 1.

The order has been criticized at the county level, with Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente recently calling it "gross overreach and abuse." The ruling is not statewide and only applies to Oneida County.

The suit followed a resolution from the Oneida County Board of Legislators, arguing the state went beyond its scope in prohibiting the terminated correction officers from working in service of the state, saying it will impact hiring efforts on all levels of government.

“This is a victory for us in Oneida County. It’s a victory for the men and women who have served as correction officers admirably and deserve the opportunity to continue their careers in public service," Picente said at a press briefing Wednesday. "We believed and we continue to believe the governor’s order was unjust. It was overreach and only harmed individuals but also jeopardized safety and operations of our sheriff’s office."

The governor’s executive order says those who participated in the unauthorized strike violated the Taylor Law, undermined public trust and disrupted public service, and therefore are not suitable for public roles. 

The judge ruled Oneida County successfully showed irreparable harm in not being able to hire the separated officers to fill vacancies in the sheriff’s office and other local agencies.

Oneida County Sheriff Rob Maciol said the ruling has prompted immediate hiring of former separated correction officers, with three individuals starting work on Thursday and seven others in the coming days. An additional 12 are going through medical physicals as part of the hiring process.

Separately, 20 lateral transfers from the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision not part of the strike have also been hired — five of whom start on Thursday.